City or county officials would be able to remove a library board member at any time, according to a new bill pre-filed in the Alabama State Senate.

Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Baldwin County) pre-filed SB10, which states that members “shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authority and may be removed at any time by a majority vote of the appointing authority.”

The bill tees up books for ongoing discussion in the Alabama statehouse, where some lawmakers have threatened intervention if local libraries do not adjust the presentation of certain books.

Elliott said his bill simply allows a mechanism for removal of appointed board members.

“There was some confusion in the code or ambiguity in the code,” Elliott said. “They’re appointed, but there’s no mechanism for removal.”

Elliott said a local mayor had questions about how board members can be added or removed, and he believed it had to do with budgetary purposes.

“This isn’t about some controversy,” Elliott said. “This isn’t an ax to grind.” He mentioned he spoke with Alabama Public Library Service director Dr. Nancy Pack today about the bill and had a “very good conversation.”

“I think library boards should fit individual communities and that local authorities should be in control of what’s going on there,” Elliott said.

According to the draft bill, instead of staggered terms of one to four years, depending on the board member’s date of appointment, all board members will serve four-year terms. The changes would go into effect Oct. 1.

Elliott also has proposed cutting funding to the Alabama Department of Archives and History in November because it hosted an LGBTQ history lecture. He pre-filed a bill to replace current board members with appointees by the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker and president pro tempore of the Senate.

Andrew Foster, Autauga-Prattville Public Library director, said he doesn’t approve of the changes outlined in SB10. In November, the Autauga County Commission ignored the library board’s recommendations and appointed members without their approval. The remaining library board members resigned in protest.

“I already feel that the ‘at pleasure’ wording encourages the politicization of library boards, which we’ve already had to deal with here in Autauga-Prattville,” Foster said. “The removal of staggered terms for board members just removes more guidance/bounds from the process, potentially disrupts the continuity of the board, can cause issues for the library and makes the appointment/reappointment process far messier. “