2 senators oppose Rapert appointment
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed former state Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway to the Arkansas State Library Board because part of the board’s duties is to provide effective leadership to improve public libraries, which the governor “believes her appointees will do by working to protect and educate kids, not indoctrinate them,” Sanders spokeswoman Alexa Henning said Tuesday.
At least two state senators said Tuesday they plan to vote against confirming the Republican governor’s appointment of Rapert to the board.
Sanders’ office announced on Monday the governor’s appointment of Rapert to the state library board for a term expiring Oct. 18, 2029, to replace Joan O’Neal of Greenbrier, and the appointment of Shari Bales of Hot Springs to the board for a term expiring October 18, 2030, to replace Donna McDonald of Charleston.
The Arkansas State Library Board is a seven-member state board that meets quarterly and acts as the policy-making body for the Arkansas State Library under Act 489 of 1979.
Under Act 566 of 2023, the Arkansas State Library has a state operations appropriation of $3.7 million, a federal operations appropriation of $3.2 million and a $10 million appropriation to provide state aid to public libraries in fiscal year 2024 that started July 1.
Other board members include Donnette Smith of Harrison, Jo Ann Campbell of Fort Smith, Pamela Meridith of Cherokee Village, Deborah Knox of Mountain Home, and Lupe Pena de Martinez of Mabelvale, according to the board’s website.
Rapert is the founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. He served in the state Senate from 2011-2023
and lost his bid last year for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor to then-Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who now serves as the state’s lieutenant governor.
In June 2022, Rutledge implemented a 2019 law — sponsored by Rapert — that bans abortions in Arkansas, except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 landmark ruling that legalized abortion across the country.
He sponsored a 2015 law that led to the placement of a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol grounds in 2017 that was replaced the following year after the original monument was destroyed. The federal claim in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the monument remains active, but the state claim in the lawsuit has been dismissed.
Rapert said Tuesday that Sanders called him and asked him to serve on the Arkansas State Library Board, and “I’m happy to serve.”
He said he wants the library board to be run efficiently and effectively, to focus on educating children and to oppose efforts by libraries to indoctrinate children into the “woke agenda.”
Rapert said he wants to make sure the board follows the wishes of the Legislature under Act 372 of 2023.
“We want Arkansas libraries to be places where children can expand their education and knowledge, and parents can trust their children will not be exposed to pornographic or inappropriate materials,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
Act 372 of 2023, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, creates an offense for “furnishing a harmful item to a minor” and strikes a defense for librarians against criminal prosecution under state obscenity laws. Sullivan said Tuesday he supports Sanders’ appointment of Rapert to the Arkansas State Library Board.
Supporters of Act 372 say it is needed to protect children from obscene material and that more transparency is needed when it comes to decisions made by libraries. Critics of the law say the act could expose librarians to criminal liability, lead to children losing access to important pieces of literature and result in libraries and local elected officials being inundated by objections to books.
In late July, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of two provisions of Act 372. One contested section of the legislation establishes the new Class A misdemeanor offense of furnishing a harmful item to a minor, incorporating definitions from existing obscenity law, and the other contested section sets a process for individuals to challenge the appropriateness of materials held in a public library’s collection.
O’Neal, who served about three years on the Arkansas State Library Board, said she sought a reappointment to the state library board, though she realized there was a chance she wouldn’t get reappointed to the board due to the “political climate.”
The state library board has been “very uneventful and straightforward in taking care of business” and hasn’t had any problems, she said.
O’Neal said she hopes Rapert “considers the entire state of Arkansas, all the people of Arkansas, that’s what the library serves.
“I hope he listens carefully to other board members and library staff,” she said.
On X, the conservative education and research group Family Council on Monday posted that “Jason Rapert is a staunch conservative and proponent of the biblical worldview.
“He will be a much-needed addition to the library board in light of recent concerns some people have voiced about inappropriate material in local libraries,” the group said.
But state Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, posted Tuesday on X that, “My understanding is the appointment of Jason Rapert to the state library board requires senate confirmation.
“I informed members that I will object to Jason Rapert’s appointment at the December meeting,” he said in his post, referring to the Senate’s plans to hold a meeting in December to consider confirming Sanders’ latest batch of appointments. “I know many long time Republicans who agree.”
King explained in a written statement that “I have served with Jason and don’t think he needs to be on the library board.”
Rapert said he appreciates the confidence of Sanders in making his appointment and the confidence of many state lawmakers who support his appointment to the board.
Senate Democratic leader Greg Leding of Fayetteville said Tuesday he won’t vote to confirm the appointment of Rapert because the State Library Board doesn’t need “a polarizing figure” like Rapert.
“I just don’t know that he is the right fit for the library board,” Leding said.
He added that he couldn’t imagine the Senate’s five other Democrats voting to confirm Rapert either.
But Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, who represents the state Senate district in which Rapert resides, said Tuesday he agreed with Sanders’ appointment of Rapert to the board.
“I think he’s a voice for a lot of values I agree with,” Rice said. “I think the board probably needs some balance.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said the Senate will consider confirming Sanders’ latest batch of appointees to state boards and commissions sometime in December.
“I don’t perceive that we have an issue at all confirming [Rapert’s appointment],” he said.