Libraries hate Children, Tax Payers (Seniors and the Disabled especially), and your Freedoms
The Missouri Library Association opposes bills supporting free speech, 2nd Amendment rights, protecting children from explicit material, and lowering taxes. Libraries want to limit dissent.
Fig. 1. The Librarian wears Prada
Missouri Librarians descended on Jefferson City on Tuesday, Feb. 6th, 24, to have morning Unity meetings and then go lobby (harass) public officials. Their purpose is laid bare in their agendas and their priorities.
They were against Free Speech, the 2nd Amendment, Protecting Children, lowering taxes, changing their Fiscal Year and elections, and Limiting their Power. The one bill they supported would make it illegal for libraries to remove books from their collection. As I point out below, they don’t even expect this bill to pass.
Budget
What bothers me is that Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft will talk tough about Library Board Meetings and attend the Brave Books event in Springfield Green County to give speeches. Still, the MLA will “Support the Secretary of State’s budget request for state library funding for FY25. (This is the same request as last year of $4.5 million).” [Their parenthesis]. Is Ashcroft against what is happening in libraries or for it? Or is Ashcroft primarily concerned with getting elected? I’ve met him. He’s decent, but he seems to think like a politician instead of a leader. Do we need a politician as our next governor, or do we need a leader? (Consider the number of bills Senator Bill Eigel has introduced below to lower your taxes versus the guy who is okay with the status quo of taxes).
As you go through the list, you can see the MLA’s narrative they are trying to sell your representatives (not theirs, yours). Despite the picture MSM is trying to tell you about Libraries and Librarians being harmless, sweet people, it’s clear that they are acting more like a greedy corporation expecting government subsidies and handouts while demanding special protections for themselves (like handing out porn to kids when no one else can). The MLA acts like the Missouri School Board Association and is more a lobbyist than anything else.
Free Speech
Your library, your librarian, and your state library association are playing you for fools. Their goal is to limit your free speech by opposing two bills. The first one requires libraries to provide suitable public comment and prohibits them from removing people from speaking unless they are committing a crime. In the other one, they want to oppose a bill requiring DESE to teach children Critical Thinking skills. They want your children dumb and sexualized judging by the amount of porn in libraries.
2nd Amendment
They are attacking their employees’ 2nd Amendment right to a gun (not for the library, heaven forbid) but in their employees’ cars in their parking lot. Do they want their employees to be at the mercy of every petty criminal that might cause them harm? With the narrative about parents being terrorists, you would think they would want to protect their employees from MAGA monsters.
Protecting Children
There are ten bills in the House and Senate to either provide equal consequences under the law for someone who provides porn or obscene material to a minor, whether as an image or in written text, or bills that prevent the porn from even being there at all. Of course, they oppose this. They realize, along with MindGeeks, who own Pornhub and other porn sites, that free porn will bring in the patrons. And like MindGeeks, they don’t mind including child porn to increase their site visitors.
Lower Taxes
Thirty-one bills were introduced that lower taxes, primarily real estate property taxes, on senior citizens, the disabled, and disabled veterans. They oppose each one of them. They don’t care if you’re old, disabled, or were injured serving your country; you will pay all of your property taxes so they can squeeze every dime out of your grandma. Is this how you want to be seen by your Librarians? As an ATM that they can cash out at any time? In this climate of outrageous inflation and tripling property taxes yearly, did you know your sweet local librarian was cheering on the government’s confiscation? Did you know they want to crush any reduction of their precious revenue? In our county, our library pays $1.69M out of its $4M in salaries. Our Executive Director made $74K last year, not including benefits. This position requires no more education than most teachers but makes twice as required by state law for a teacher with ten years of experience with a master’s degree in most districts. Do you think any executive director does substantially more work than a teacher in a classroom of 25 to 30 students?
Fiscal Year
I’m not sure why they were against the fiscal year change by the board’s decree, but I’m sure it’s related to money. I have a feeler out on this question and if I can answer it, I will update the article.
Elections
They are absolutely against any requirement that the Library Board be elected. They argue that this will cost Libraries millions of dollars every two years. Why should it, unless the library is trying to get certain people elected to the board who will do their bidding? In my county, the County Commissioners reaffirmed our process of requiring the prospective board members to apply for the position like a job. [Gretchen Garrity and Deborah Spindle write up this decision well.] The library is terrified that they won’t be able to control the one group of people that can cause fundamental changes in the library through staff and policies. The MLA will fight this, and we must hope they lose.
Limited Powers
The last thing they oppose is a limitation on their powers. The library has the authority to overrule a City or a Planning and Zoning Commission on tax changes. The Library Board is an unelected group previously appointed by an unelected Executive Director of Library Services, and they can increase your taxes by fiat. They don’t want their power to be limited by this bill or by you lowly peasants. For all their talk about Marxism and Socialism, they are…dictators. Oh wait, that’s precisely what Marxists and Socialists become.
Fake Book Banning
Lastly, according to them, the only bill they are publicly rooting to pass has little chance to pass. This bill would prevent local libraries from removing books that are pornographic, subversive, and radical from their collections. In private, Randy Scherr, Missouri Library Association’s Lobbyist, stated in the Legislative Update Meeting, “This bill most likely will not move.” Ealy must be disappointed MLA doesn’t believe in him at all.
So as you contact your representative, tell them that you want them to work for you and not for the sweet librarian who is working against you. Because, after all, The Librarian wears Prada.
Against
Free Speech
HB2206 (Rep. Richard West (R)) - Establishes general requirements for meetings of governing bodies of political subdivisions
HB1513 (Rep. Jim Murphy (R)) - Establishes the "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act"
2nd Amendment
HB1408 (Rep. Hardy Billington (R)) - Prohibits an employer from terminating an employee for having a firearm in the employee's vehicle on the employer's premises
Protecting Children
HB1426 (Rep. Mike McGirl (R)) - Establishes provisions relating to civil liability for publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on the internet
HB1543 (Rep. Jeff Coleman (R)) - Modifies the offense of providing explicit sexual material to a student
HB1574 (Rep. Mazzie Christensen (R)) - Prohibits the state librarian from disbursing funds to libraries that offer obscene materials to children [MLA placed text in Red]
HB1855 (Rep. Brad Banderman (R)) - Establishes provisions relating to civil liability for publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on the internet [MLA placed text in Red]
HB2157 (Rep. Josh Hurlbert (R)) - Establishes standards to promote the safety of minors using the internet and social media
HB2408 (Rep. Jamie Gragg (R)) - Prohibits the state librarian from disbursing funds to libraries that offer obscene materials to children [MLA placed text in Red]
SB950 (Sen. Rick Brattin (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to the offense of providing explicit sexual material to a student
SB1084 (Sen. Rick Brattin (R)) - Creates provisions requiring filtering of obscene websites
SB1272 (Sen. Nick Schroer (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to providing explicit sexual material to a student [MLA placed text in Red]
SB1330 (Sen. Nick Schroer (R)) - Establishes a cause of action against libraries for furnishing or allowing access of pornographic materials to minors [MLA placed text in Red]
Lower Taxes
HB1428 (Rep. Mike McGirl (R)) - Modifies the "circuit breaker" tax credit by increasing the maximum upper limit and property tax credit amounts
HB1467 (Rep. Chris Sander (R)) - Changes the assessment cycle for determining the assessed valuation of subclass (1) residential real property from two years to four years, beginning in 2027.
HB1517 (Rep. Jim Murphy (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to tax levies by political subdivisions
HB1667 (Rep. Mark Matthiesen (R)) - Authorizes taxpayers to submit petitions to reduce local tax rate levies
HB 1668 (Rep. Mark Matthiesen (R)) - Changes the percentage of the cap on the inflationary growth factor for the assessment growth of real or personal property occurring within a political subdivision
HB1669 (Rep. Mark Matthiesen (R)) - Reduces the assessment percentage of certain personal property and provides a personal property tax exemption for certain personal property upon adoption of a constitutional amendment authorizing such exemption
HB1690 (Rep. Rodger Reedy (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to motor vehicle assessment valuations
HB1831 (Rep. Aaron McMullen (R)) - Reduces the assessment percentage of certain real property
HB1906 (Rep. Darin Chappell (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to the assessed valuation of real property
HB1939 (Rep. Adrian Plank (D)) - Modifies the "Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief Credit" or "circuit breaker" tax credit by increasing the maximum upper limit amounts
HJR75 (Rep. Dave Griffith (R)) - Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Missouri relating to property tax exemptions [Disabled Vets]
HJR78 (Rep. Jeff Coleman (R)) - Proposes a constitutional amendment relating to real property tax assessments
HJR82 (Rep. Brian Seitz (R)) - Proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Missouri relating to a property tax exemption for certain seniors
HJR84 (Rep. Brian Seitz (R)) - Proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit any new tax or increase in tax from going into effect unless approved by the voters in a general election
HJR85 (Rep. Marlene Terry (D)) - Reduces property tax assessments on senior citizens and disabled persons by fifty percent
HJR88 (Rep. Mark Matthiesen (R)) - Proposes a constitutional amendment to allow the general assembly to exempt tangible personal property from personal property taxation by general law
HJR120 (Rep. Justin Hicks (R)) - Proposes a constitutional amendment relating to residential real property tax assessments
SB725 (Sen. Denny Hoskins (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to personal property taxes
SB733 (Sen. Bill Eigel (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to personal property taxes
SB756 (Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R)) - Modifies a property tax credit for certain seniors
SB822 (Sen. Tracy McCreery (D)) - Modifies the Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief Credit
SB915 (Sen. Tracy McCreery (D)) - Authorizes certain senior citizens to defer property taxes
SB929 (Sen. Mike Cierpiot (R)) - Requires all elections for local tax increases to be held at a general or primary election [MLA placed text in Red]
SB1001 (Sen. Andrew Koenig (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to property taxes
SB1009 (Sen. Mike Cierpiot (R)) - Reduces the assessment percentage of real property
SB1086 (Sen. Rick Brattin (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to personal property taxes
SJR53 (Sen. Bill Eigel (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to taxation
SJR58 (Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R)) - Exempts certain disabled veterans from property taxes
SJR65 (Sen. Barbara Washington (D)) - Places limits on increases of the assessment of certain properties
SJR82 (Sen. Rick Brattin (R)) - Replaces the property tax on real property with a sales tax
Fiscal Year
HB2084 (Rep. Brad Banderman (R)) - Authorizes the board of trustees of consolidated public library districts to establish the beginning and end dates of fiscal years [MLA placed text in Red]
SB1124 (Sen. Ben Brown (R)) - Authorizes the board of trustees of a consolidated public library district to change the dates of the fiscal year [MLA placed text in Red]
Elections
HB2498 (Rep. Tony Lovasco (R)) - Requires public libraries that are authorized to levy or collect taxes to be governed by an elected library board [MLA placed text in Red]
Limited Power
HB1512 (Rep. Jim Murphy (R)) - Modifies provisions relating to the powers of libraries [MLA placed text in Red]
For PORN
HB2481 (Rep. Anthony Ealy (D)) - Bans publicly funded libraries from banning books [MLA placed text in Red]
Source Material
MLA Legislative Priorities 2024
Legislative Update Meeting, February 1, 2024
Copyright © 2024 by David Rice
Gonna share this! Thank you for listing all the bills.