MORGANTOWN – The state Senate and House of Delegates plowed through long lists of bills on Tuesday, in preparation for Crossover Day on Wednesday. School sports, smoking and deep fakes were among the topics.
Crossover Day is the 50th day of the session, when bills must pass out of their house of origin and go to the other chamber.
Senate action
SB 717 raises the minimum age to buy tobacco products – and for retailers to sell them – from 18 to 21.
Judiciary chair Charles Trump, R-Morgan, said the bill will conform state law to federal law. Without it, the state could lose some federal block grant money – about $87,500.
Sen. David Stover, R-Wyoming said he supports the bill and doesn’t smoke. But since he was 18, he’s thought “it was somehow unfair that I could go off to war – in my day, right after Vietnam – and not be able to buy adult things like tobacco. … We expect 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to perhaps go die for their country and they cant even buy cigarettes.
The vote was 24-9 and it goes to the House.
SB 813 will allow school athletes to compete in non-school competitive activities.
Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, objected to a sentence in the bill saying prohibiting such participation “is unlawfully arbitrary and is not rationally related to a state purpose.”
Given this has been an SSAC policy for 30 years, he asked Education chair Amy Grady, R-Mason, about this, and she said, “Just because we’ve done something for many, many years doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do it. It doesn’t even mean it’s the best way to do it.” It should be a family’s decision what a student can do outside designated school hours.
Woelfel said that sentence might lead a judge to rule the bill illegal. And the bill will eviscerate high school basketball, and cause student athletes to suffer academically and risk injury.
But Sen. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, said the bill will offer a great opportunity for students to get needed exposure without a coach or school saying no.
The vote was 24-9.
SB 503 says a state higher education institution may not deny a religious, political, or ideological student organization which is open to all students any benefit or privilege made generally available to any other student organization, or otherwise discriminate against an the organization based on a requirement of the organization that its leaders and members affirm and adhere to the organization’s sincerely held beliefs; comply with the organization’s standards of conduct; and further the organization’s mission, expression, or purpose.
It passed 31-1.
House action
HB 4667 would prohibit syringe service programs from distributing “any smoking devices, including, but not limited to, hand pipes, bubblers, bongs, dab rigs, hookahs, crack pipes, or disposable smoking devices.” The vote was 88-12.
HB 4963 would criminalize disseminating a deep fake or contracting to disseminate a deep fake to influence an election. It exempts media outlets who accept a paid political ad, and parody and satire containing a disclaimer.
Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, was among those who voted against it, but joked, “You’re not going to be able to show me with my arms around Nancy Pelosi. This is great.”
The vote was 88-11.
HB 5516 criminalizes the use of deep fakes in revenge porn and child porn. It passed 96-0.
Email: dbeard@domininopost.com
