The Dayton Library that was in danger of being closed by an extremist censorship group last year, now has the protection of SB 5824. Last month we reported that it was passed unanimously by the Senate, and now it has passed the House as well!

Elise Severe, Chair of Neighbors United For Progress, had this to say after attending the bill signing ceremony on March 26:

“The legislation passed through the Senate and the House with substantial bipartisan support. Our community had the potential to be the first library in the nation to be dissolved by the voters. With this new law, going into effect June 2024, Washington State libraries will be safeguarded. Petition signature requirements [have] been raised to 25%, all registered voters within the library district will be able to vote on library measures, and a majority vote by the library board will no longer be an avenue to place dissolution on the ballot.

Now is the time to rebuild. Let us begin to repair relationships with our neighbors and build community trust with our Rural Public Library.

Let's move Dayton forward!”