Restoring Constitutional Protections to Missouri Libraries
Missouri lawmakers have introduced HB3178, a bill that offers an opportunity to correct course after several years of policies that have pushed public libraries toward censorship and restricted access. HB3178 is designed to reestablish constitutional guardrails around public libraries and to refocus them on serving their communities.
Under the Missouri state constitution, the General Assembly may appropriate funds for state aid to public libraries. Those funds are administered through rules and regulations approved by the Secretary of State. In theory, this system is meant to ensure accountability and consistency. In practice, however, the Secretary of State’s approval authority has been used in recent years to impose rules and conditions that go far beyond administrative oversight and into territory that raises serious First Amendment and civil rights concerns.
Beginning in 2022, under then-Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Missouri approved new administrative rules tied to state aid for public libraries that relied on vague and subjective standards about “age-appropriate” materials and alleged obscenity. Those rules created uncertainty about what might be called inappropriate by political actors or individual complainants.
Under the current Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, libraries have continued to receive the message that state funding will be conditioned on political approval. This has included payment delays and heightened scrutiny of digital library platforms. Even when funds were ultimately released, the damage was done. There is a tremendous chilling effect on libraries when their collections, programs, and access policies are subject to ideological review.
Under the First Amendment, public libraries are what is known as a limited public forum where free speech is exercised, and under civil rights law, as places of public accommodation. When state officials use funding rules or administrative approvals to pressure libraries into restricting access, that erodes public trust, professional independence, and equal access for patrons, particularly teens, LGBTQ+ readers, and marginalized communities.
HB3178 (2026) would address this problem directly by amending Section 181.060 of Missouri law to make explicit what should have been the standard all along.
If the bill passes, all rules and regulations governing state aid to public libraries must be written in substantial compliance with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8 of the Missouri state Constitution which also protects the freedom of speech, and pplicable federal and state civil rights laws, including laws governing public accommodations, nondiscrimination, access, and workplace protections
Just as importantly, HB3178 is not only forward-looking. It requires that any rules adopted before July 1, 2026, be reviewed for compliance retrospectively. That means any unjust or unconstitutional rules on the books cannot simply remain there by default. HB3178 does not dictate what libraries must buy, display, or program. It does not interfere with local governance or professional judgment. Instead, it restores clear legal boundaries so that future Secretaries of State, regardless of party or political perspective, cannot use administrative power to pressure libraries into censorship or exclusion.
We appreciate State Representative Wick Thomas for their leadership in sponsoring this bill. We hope that legislators from both parties and across the political spectrum who are concerned with the principles of free expression will add their names as co-sponsors. For library supporters across Missouri, this bill represents a chance to move forward and ensure that the rules governing our public institutions are clear, constitutional, and worthy of the public’s trust.