JEFFERSON CITY — The chief Senate budget writer said he plans to restore state funding for Missouri’s public libraries that was stripped out of the House version of the state’s spending plan.
Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday that the panel will place $4.5 million back in the budget, which covers spending for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
“There is no way that money is not going back into the budget,†Hough told the Post-Dispatch.
The restoration could mark the second reversal of a House budget priority that has stirred controversy under the Capitol dome. Hough and Senate President Caleb Rowden earlier said they oppose Republican language in the House blueprint that would prohibit the state from spending tax dollars on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
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Rowden said the diversity and inclusion provisions were “overly broad and would result in billions of dollars in cuts to hospitals, health care facilities, colleges and universities, and the Missouri House of Representatives itself.â€
The library money was removed from the House blueprint by House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and backed by the Republicans who control the chamber last week. He cited a lawsuit by two library groups to overturn a new state law banning sexually explicit material in school libraries.
The ACLU, the Missouri Association of School Librarians, and the Missouri Library Association in February asked a judge in Kansas City to find the law unconstitutional or clarify how and when it applies.
Smith, R-Carthage, believes the state shouldn’t subsidize the lawsuit by giving public libraries money.
For libraries, the money is distributed based on a population-based model. The ºüÀêÊÓƵ city library system receives an estimated $452,000, while ºüÀêÊÓƵ County library district is on tap to receive about $660,000, according to figures provided by the Secretary of State’s office.
Hough’s hometown library district, which covers Springfield and Greene County, would receive an estimated $368,000 if the money is restored.
Hough said libraries serve multiple purposes in communities, allowing people to not only get books, but internet service, job assistance and programs for adults and children.
“Libraries are an important resource for so many people,†Hough said.
The Missouri Library Association has argued that smaller library systems would be most affected if the cuts are not restored.
“Our rural libraries rely the most heavily on this funding to serve their communities, and they will be crippled by this drastic budget cut,†the organization said in a statement.
The disputed law, which was approved in 2022, does not apply to written descriptions of sex or sexual acts. But, photographs, drawings, videos and other visual depictions are prohibited.
Librarians and other school officials face up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine for violating the policy, which makes it a crime to provide minors with sexually explicit visual material. Exceptions are provided for works of art, science classes, and other educational courses.