Bad Bills: Dead or Alive? (Mostly Dead)

       The lawmaking process was designed to make it hard to pass legislation. That’s obviously a two-edged sword, but lately it has been working in our favor. Lots of bad bills died before the Legislature gaveled out at midnight on Day 60. In all 279 bills passed as completed legislation and were sent to the governor. Out of the 2,575 that were introduced, 529 actually passed out of one or the other chamber. Additional complications – when a bill that’s passed over to the other chamber is amended by that chamber, it has to then return to the house of origin for those changes to be approved or further amended. So a bill in this situation can bounce back and forth between the House and Senate several times before it’s agreed to and sent to the governor (or not). See what I mean?

       Read through to see how our issues fared and how many really horrible bills fell short of the finish line. A short list of the worst to fail includes the Women’s Bill of Wrongs; the Lock Up the Librarians/book banning bill; as well as the timbering in state parks, anti-carbon offset agreements, anti-air monitoring and welfare for Diversified Energy bills. Notice I’ve given more accurate nick-names to these bills as the ‘official’ titles often are 180 degrees backwards on what they actually do. 

       On the other hand, several good bills we were supporting fell to opposition by the majority party and special interests. Some of these were the solar net metering & community solar bills; support for child care for working families; addressing the Medicaid funding shortfall; support for foster kids and families; and more. So many needs of the state went ignored while we fought over divisive social issues. The monied special interests pulling the strings want to keep us fighting amongst ourselves over these ‘woke’ vs ‘conservative’ issues while they’re laughing all the way to the bank with their latest corporate welfare haul.

 

Great Reporting: Shout Out to the Statehouse Press Corps

       Even if the news itself isn’t always good, we are fortunate to have an amazing statehouse press corps. ICYMI, here are a few wrap-ups from the folks that work hard to keep us informed on all that happens under the gold dome. You’ll also find lots of relevant articles on the bills we’ve been sending updates and action alerts about throughout the session in our searchable news archive. 

• SINE DIE: Negotiations on budget, unemployment changes dominate last day of W.Va. legislative session – Steven Allen Adams, Ogden Newspapers
• How lawmakers did — and didn’t — address West Virginia’s major challenges during the 2024 legislative session – Mountain State Spotlight reporters Erin Beck, Henry Culvyhouse, Sarah Elbeshbishi, P.R. Lockhart, La Shawn Pagán and Allen Siegler
• West Virginia Legislature ends session with pay raises, tax cut and failure of social issue bills – Leah Willingham, the Associated Press
• What got left on the legislative session’s cutting room floor – Brad McElhinny, WV MetroNews
• Some other notable bills reach finish line on legislative session’s 60th day – David Beard, the Dominion Post
• West Virginia’s GOP supermajority somehow couldn’t get much accomplished during session – Commentary by Leann Ray, Editor of West Virginia Watch with links to great reporting by Caity Coyne, Lori Kersey, and Amelia Ferrell Knisely

 

You’re the Action in Citizen Action!

       Before diving further into this wrap up issue, please take a minute to renew your membership or become a new supporting member right here: www.wvcag.org/membership. 

       You are the ‘Citizen’ in Citizen Action. Your actions of calling lawmakers and state officials, showing up for live in-person actions, and supporting our work through your memberships and donations are what keep Citizen Action going! Thanks in advance for your support!