The Missouri House passed a $45.6 billion state budget on Thursday, with Democrats opposing many of its components. One of the areas they took issue with was the complete defunding of public libraries in the state.
House Budget Chairman Cody Smith reportedly sought to defund libraries in part because of a lawsuit put forth by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri (ACLU-MO). The organization is suing on behalf of libraries in response to the state's recent ban on visual depictions of sex in books.
Additionally, the budget removes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in state government. Representative Doug Richey explained his support for the measure.
"With DEI as an ideology that the left has driven a truck through and is trying to strip from the very foundations of Western civilization, what we have valued and what has been used to build a Western civilisation that has championed the freedom and rights of people around this globe," Richey said.
Democrats opposed the measure, calling it racist.
"I think probably the biggest thing in House Bill 2 that I simply cannot stomach is the stipulations related to diversity, equity and inclusion," said Representative Kathy Steinhoff.
The budget now heads to the Senate where it likely faces several changes before final passage. According to reports from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Senate President Caleb Rowden plans to eliminate the language that defunds DEI initiatives.
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