On Thursday, a majority of House Republicans voted to defeat the appropriations budget for the Idaho Commission for Libraries.
House Bill 824 died in a 33-36 vote. The legislation had been reworked twice, and objections from legislators led to $307,000 being cut from the commission’s budget, which would eliminate a statewide e-book collection. The ongoing money had been used annually to purchase new e-book and e-audio titles for K-12 students at all Idaho schools, since many districts lack an adequate book budget. The e-books in the collection are also available to homeschooled students and others through most public libraries.
Republicans didn’t believe the cut went far enough, leading them to kill the bill. Assistant Democratic Leader Lauren Necochea (D-Boise) said it was clear the attack on library funding was motivated by GOP legislators’ desire for vengeance over House Bill 666, which sought to criminalize librarians, being held in the Senate.
“The revised budget already punished Idaho students, reducing their access to books so that House GOP legislators could make a political statement,” Necochea said. “This vote was senseless retribution against the librarians who spoke out against the absurd House Bill 666. When you propose legislation that threatens jail time and fines for librarians, you should expect their opposition. Ultimately, Idaho’s children are paying the price with diminished access to books, especially in schools with limited resources.”
The budget will now have to be revised in the Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee, then pass both the House and Senate before the legislature can adjourn.