DAY 6 Wrapup Column- Bills Starting to Move

Republicans are start to move bills that would relax vaccine requirements for schools, add more work requirements for SNAP benefits and more

Under the Golden Dome on this cold, snowy Monday after a weekend of historic floods in the southern part of the state, Republicans starting making moves toward passing their 10th legislative agenda since taking over the Legislature in 2015. The Senate moved the school vaccine bill which allows religious and philosophical exemptions for parents to use. Senator Tom Takubo failed to amend the bill in the Health and Human Resources Committee to allow private and parochial schools to make their own school vaccine policy (what happened to all the talk about private school being good because they are free from government influence?), and removed the required report for schools to show how many students gained exemptions, which the Governor himself wanted in the bill. Clearly, this bill, especially on the vague, general philosophical side, could harm public health for children long-term, especially when we are looking a measles outbreak in Texas which is continuing to spread, in a area with generally lower vaccination rates. If anything, with Morrisey’s ask, it shouldn’t be a big deal to agree with his idea of allowing schools to show how many students were exempt from getting vaccines. It wouldn’t put any personal identifying information out there, it would just show how many don’t want it, and what our vaccination rate is in every school. Hopefully, their is at least a attempt to amend this back in before it inevitably gets signed by Morrisey in a month or two.

Republicans in Charleston are not happy with the work requirements already being put on SNAP benefit holders, and are starting the process to expand them even further, making the Department of Health Services put all SNAP users into a employment and training program, and disclosing these within counties. Again, I don’t think many people sit around, licking their lips for the government dole to come around every month. They are looking for jobs on their own accord, and trust me the job market isn’t great right now for those looking into a specific field of want. I do understand the want to get people off of the social safety net as much as possible, but their are already work requirements, and adding on to them won’t do much in my opinion. The bill passed the Senate Workforce Committee today.

The House of Delegates Judiciary Committee has started work of HJR 13, a state constitutional amendment to ban non-citizens from voting in elections. Again, this is another amendment Republicans want to ram through the Legislature onto the ballot for something that is already illegal in the state. No city in the state has even had any city councilor bring up allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, let alone the same Democrats who split themselves last year on a resolution supporting Greg Abbott’s immigration fight against the then-Biden Administration bringing it up on any state level. Well.. at least it isn’t as confusing as the banning of medically-assisted suicide/euthanasia amendment that barely passed after landing on ballots last year.

Delegate Mike Pushkin likes to call the Legislature the Bad Idea Factory™. And the recently introduced bills and resolutions are backing this theory. A bill to make West Virginia classrooms show the Ten Commandants was introduced today. We also have the banning of “woke words” bill. I will personally pay someone $100 if you can find the term “womxn” in any official part of state code, or even any government document. The House got a resolution declaring “transgenderism” a mental illness. It seems for every 1 good bill (teacher pay raises, helping expand license recognition), their is at least 10 stupid and/or pointless things put out.

This wrapup column will continue to expand throughout the session. Thank you for reading, share and subscribe!