Dear members of the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee:

Read Freely Alabama is greatly concerned about statements made by Sen. Chris Elliott to the press following the public hearing on SB26, and the discrepancy between those remarks and the ones he expressed during the hearing. In his remarks during the hearing, Sen. Elliott presented SB26 as a simple administrative measure to align procedures for removing public library board members with the codified procedures for other similar boards. His framing seemed to suggest that his intent was an ideologically neutral bill for the purpose of procedural clarity and consistency, and it was on this presentation that the committee members based their vote.

In his remarks to Gulf Coast Media, however, Sen. Elliott stated his true motives behind the bill meant to address what he views as "valid concerns" about "children being exposed to inappropriate material" in public libraries, declaring that the proposed legislation would be brought back "as many times as it takes" until the issue is addressed to his satisfaction.

These statements reveal that Sen. Elliott's motivation was not to fill a policy gap or standardize administrative procedure, as he presented, but on influencing and censoring library materials to cater to the demands of a vocal minority who want to impose their values on local library collections. We know from experience fighting censorship in Alabama that many of these "concerned parents" Sen. Elliott cites are actually well-funded activists affiliated with national book-banning groups – and it is quite concerning to hear an elected official parroting their talking points in the media.

It is especially troubling that this alternative rationale for SB26 was not disclosed during the committee hearing, despite being incredibly relevant to your discussion and evaluation of the bill. As we expressed in our comments at the hearing, libraries are already being pressured by these activist groups to inappropriately relocate award-winning literature such as "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Hate U Give." It is clear that Sen. Elliott intends for SB26 to be yet another mechanism for such pressure tactics.

Honesty and transparency from bill sponsors are critical to the integrity of the legislative process. To understand the scope and intent of a bill before voting, committee members should be able to rely on honest representations of the bill in question. The introduction of SB26 by Sen. Elliott, followed by a substantively different presentation published in the media immediately after, erodes public trust and undermines the committee's role.

We sincerely hope you consider his remarks in full as you consider this bill.

Angie Hayden

Read Freely Alabama

Prattville