In one of its first major actions, the newly reconstituted Arkansas State Library Board unanimously approved the quarterly distribution of state aid to public libraries.

The Legislature required the board to reconstitute this year via Act 903, which terminated all seven members and required the governor make a full slate of appointments. The sponsor of the legislation, state Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, previously called the board "fairly dysfunctional" and said it would be best to "start all over."

The board had drawn increased scrutiny from lawmakers after it rejected proposals from then board member and former Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert to withhold state aid from libraries if they didn't limit minors' access to what he called "sexually explicit material."

So far, Republic

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