The House County and Municipal Government Committee approved a bill that makes removing local public library members easier — with an amendment to ensure cause for removal.

After public comment and discussion among committee members, the committee passed an amended version of Sen. Chris Elliott’s (R-Baldwin County) SB10 bill. Rep. Sam Jones (D-Mobile) added an amendment that a library board member must be removed with cause.

Public comment took up most of the meeting, with nine people speaking. Most were opposed to the bill or urged caution from lawmakers in considering it.

Librarian Jessica Hayes spoke “on behalf of the hundreds of public library employees who couldn’t attend this hearing. Some are busy keeping your district’s libraries open, ensuring your voters have access to Wi-Fi, job placement training, technological equipment, tutoring services and children’s programming. Others can’t attend because they have been intimidated into silence.”

Hayes said the bill will force library boards “to align with a governing body’s political agenda.” Hayes also opposed the removal of staggered terms from the bill, “which would disrupt library operations as it removes experience, institutional knowledge, which is important and vital to the library operations.”

Lee Farrow, chair of Auburn University at Montgomery’s history and world cultures department, warned the committee the bill would politicize and threaten the autonomy of library boards.

“The argument that if people want to access certain books, they can buy them themselves is a fallacious argument,” Farrow said. “Not everyone can afford to buy all the books that they want their children to read. And this is why we have public libraries in the first place.”

Autauga-Prattville library director Andrew Foster said there have been inaccuracies in the perception of libraries.

Prattville is at the center of book challenges statewide. The majority of the board resigned in the last few months due to how the county commission appointed members without the board’s approval and new policies banning minors’ access to LGBTQ books. Foster said this lack of continuity has hurt the library and caused many problems as staff educate the new board on library basics and the library’s purpose.

“When considering this bill, and considering all this legislation, please reach out to your local libraries, go speak to the directors, the boards, the employees, and communicate with them about both what is already being done to address these things that we’re having conversations about right now,” Foster said.

Adam Rotenberry spoke against the bill.

“I found it pitifully ironic that the party of small government is always trying to inject itself into places that it doesn’t agree with,” Rotenberry said. He said this bill is a way to “fight off this evil, imaginary foe with the woke agenda.To tell people that the library is secretly indoctrinating children or perverting their minds is a slap in the face to people with common sense.”

Prattville resident Lori Herring with Eagle Forum spoke in favor of the bill.

“This bill is not about the books that are present or not present in the library. It is not about the philosophy clash about what is censorship or isn’t censorship.” Herring said. “It deals with the powers of the local governments to be able to control their own appointments to their own boards.”

Herring said that without this accountability, unelected members can “carry out any kind of indoctrination policies with impunity. The local appointing body has the right and responsibility to discern, determine who has the best qualities to become their librarians. This should not be handed down from on high because not every person fits the cookie cutter mold that the colleges send out. There are a lot of us with life experiences that also matter a whole lot.”

After discussing the bill section that removed staggered terms, Jones brought up the issue of removing board members without cause. As a former Mobile mayor, he said he wouldn’t just fire people for no reason. Elliott was concerned adding “cause” to the bill could bring up potential litigation. Rep. Danny Crawford (R-Limestone County) said he was surprised that having a cause to remove a board member wasn’t already in the legislation.

The amendment passed with several committee members giving a dissenting vote. The second amendment passed unanimously and added that the annual report of actions taken by the board also be sent to the respective appointing authorities.

Angie Hayden of the group Read Freely Alabama, who also spoke against the bill, said the amendment is “the best we could hope for.”

The bill will move to the full House.