Hunt bill to protect libraries signed into law

OLYMPIA — A bill to protect libraries was signed into law Tuesday.   In 2023, petitioners in Columbia County gathered enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District in Dayton. State statute required they collect signatures from at least 10% of residents who live in unincorporated Columbia County.   Even though the library district serves all Columbia County residents, state statute would have only allowed people living in unincorporated parts of the county to vote on the library’s future, despite city of Dayton residents paying taxes to fund the library too. That would have excluded two-thirds of the county’s residents, according to reporting ...

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