JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A controversial change to how public libraries operate in Missouri may go into effect without any public hearings, despite generating a record-setting amount of public comments.
Republican state Rep. Alex Riley, of Springfield, said Tuesday he hasn’t made a decision on whether to schedule a hearing where people can further weigh in on Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s proposal to block public funding for libraries if they offer books that are pornographic for minors or labeled as obscene under state statutes.
“We’re taking a look at that. We’ll make a decision a little later once we’ve had a chance to review everything,” Riley told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday.
