MORGANTOWN – In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when most folks were snug in their beds, House Judiciary wrapped up one of its famous marathon meetings – grinding out two controversial bills between midnight and 2 a.m.
One of them is the so-called anti-CRT bill. The other puts limits on ordinances and policies local governments can enact.
After the meeting ended, Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, tweeted, “It’s almost 2:AM and we’re just getting out of House Judiciary. I wish I could say we did something good, but we did not.”
SB 498 is the anti-CRT bill, officially called the Anti-Racism Act. Judiciary amended the House Education version and sent it to the House floor. While the bill is expected to pass, a small procedural move on the House floor hinted at the battle to come.
It will be up for second reading and adoption of the Judiciary amendment on Thursday.
House Education and Judiciary both kept the heart of the Senate bill, pulling out definitions of words. Education had added in a definition of race tied to federal code, which Judiciary stripped out.
The Judiciary version forbids a school, charter school or the state from teaching or requiring affirmation of several concepts, many of them associated with Critical Race Theory.
The concepts are:
- One race is inherently, morally, or intellectually superior to another race;
- an individual, by virtue of race, is inherently racist or oppressive;
- an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of race;
- an individual’s moral character is determined by race;
- an individual, by virtue race, bears responsibility for actions committed by other members of the same race;
- an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of race;
- academic achievement, meritocracy, or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race.
The bill allows discussion of the concepts if discussion of alternative theories is also included in the course; discussion, examination, or debate regarding race and its impact on historical or current events; the right to freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment and the West Virginia Constitution.
The bill sets up a complaint process – starting with the school principal and then going to the county and state superintendent, if necessary – and requires data tracking and an annual report to the Legislature.
The procedural move went like this. Typically, when a committee report on bill action reaches the floor and leadership wants to expedite its progress, the majority leader will ask unanimous consent to take up the bill and read it a first time.
But Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, didn’t do that. Leadership knew that the Democratic opponents would object, so Summers instead moved that the bill be taken up and read. That bypassed the objection, with the motion approved in a divided voice vote.
Local ordinance bill
Summers did the same thing for SB 71, bypassing any objections to reading it the first time by getting a voice vote on a motion.
SB 71 forbids counties and municipalities from passing or enforcing laws on several topics:
- Regulating information an employer or potential employer must request, require, or exclude on an application for employment;
- Requiring an employer to pay to an employee a wage higher than any applicable state or federal law;
- Requiring an employer to pay to an employee a wage or fringe benefit based on wage and fringe benefit rates prevailing in the locality;
- Regulating work stoppage or strike activity of employers and their employees or the means by which employees may organize;
- Requiring an employer to provide to an employee paid or unpaid leave time;
- Requiring an employer or its employees to participate in any educational apprenticeship or apprenticeship training program that is not required by state or federal law;
- Regulating hours and scheduling that an employer is required to provide to employees; or
- Regulating standards of care, conduct, or licensing fees for any profession regulated, licensed, or certified by the state.
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