A bill approved by the Kentucky Senate would change the process for filling vacancies on public library district boards by removing state-level involvement and giving counties greater control over appointments.
Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Gary Boswell, R-Owensboro, passed the Senate on Jan. 23 by a 34–1 vote. The legislation amends KRS 173.490 and KRS 173.730, which govern the appointment of trustees to public library district boards.
Under the bill, the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and the state librarian would no longer play a role in recommending candidates for library board vacancies. Instead, all recommendations would originate with the local library board and be submitted directly to the county judge-executive, with final appointments requiring approval from the fiscal court.
The legislation establishes two appointment methods, depending on whether a county has adopted an alternative appointment process by resolution.
In counties that have not adopted an alternative process, the library board would submit two recommended candidates for each vacancy. The county judge-executive would be required to select one of those two individuals within 30 days, subject to fiscal court approval.
In counties that have adopted an alternative appointment process, the library board would submit one recommended candidate. The county judge-executive may appoint that individual with fiscal court approval or reject the recommendation. If the recommendation is rejected, the judge-executive may appoint another qualified individual of their choosing within 30 days, with fiscal court approval.
The bill also applies to mid-term vacancies, using the same two-track structure depending on whether an alternative process has been adopted. All appointed trustees must be residents of the county served and committed to the provision of library services.
“The people who know their libraries best are the people who live in the community,” Boswell said. “This bill lets counties handle board appointments locally so libraries can stay focused on serving their neighbors, not navigating red tape.”
Under prior law, the state librarian played a central role in filling library board vacancies. For full-term appointments, library boards submitted recommendations to the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, which forwarded two candidates to the county judge-executive for appointment with fiscal court approval. For mid-term vacancies, applicants applied directly to the department, and the state librarian selected the candidates without board input. In both cases, a second round of state recommendations was required before a county judge-executive could appoint someone of their own choosing.
SB 40 establishes timelines for action by both library boards and county governments and requires that completed appointments be reported to the Department for Libraries and Archives within 14 days. The legislation does not change trustee term lengths, eligibility requirements, library funding, or library operations.
Adoption of the alternative appointment process is optional and must be approved by a fiscal court resolution. Counties that do not take that step would continue using the two-candidate recommendation model, without state involvement.
Boswell said the legislation has earned support from the Kentucky County Judge/Executive Association and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
SB 40 now moves to the Kentucky House of Representatives for consideration.
