Good: HB 5516 — “prohibiting the use of deep fake images for the nonconsensual disclosure of private intimate images; prohibiting the unlawful depiction of nude or partially nude minors or minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”
Similar to the bills on child porn, this one makes it illegal to manipulate images to make it appear a real person doing or saying something they are not, specifically in the context of sexual activity, then sharing those images or videos. Think “revenge porn,” except that, while the person depicted is real, the images aren’t.
Bad: HB 5297 — “relating to prohibiting pubertal modulation and hormonal therapy when provided to assist in a gender transition.”
This bill essentially removes all the language that allowed hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. In general, medical decisions should be left between a person and their doctor — without the interference of the government.
Stupid: HB 4191 — “relating to requirements imposed on social media companies to prevent corruption and provide transparency of election-related content made available on social media websites.”
This one gets a “stupid” because the whole thing is poorly thought out and the language is so vague that it’s sure to generate a host of lawsuits, because no one’s quite sure what it does and does not allow. It could also potentially lead to a social media blackout in West Virginia if social media companies decide it’s too much work, or just too expensive, to change their operations to suit a single state.
Good: HB 5553 — adds personal finance and computer science to high school graduation requirements.
We have long supported a mandatory personal finance class for high schoolers. If we expect our kids to become functioning adults, understanding how credit, debt and taxes work is essential.
We think adding computer science is also a good idea. Computer-based technology has infiltrated virtually every aspect of our lives, and that’s even more true for younger generations that don’t remember a time without laptops and smartphones. Since this technology is such a part of our everyday lives, it’s important that young people understand at least the basics of how it works.
Bad-ish: SB 688 — allowing the Division of Natural Resources to “contract for the management of state-owned and -leased forests and wooded lands for purposes of preventing forest fires.”
In theory, this sounds fine. However, we are always wary of allowing private companies to take over the management of public lands. Environmental groups have complained that similar laws in other states have allowed for private companies to excessively timber on what should be public land.
Stupid-ish: HB 5319 — creating a criminal offense for exposing someone to fentanyl.
This is another one that sounds good in theory. However, some of parts of the bill rely on faulty assumptions about what kinds of fentanyl exposures are actually dangerous (you can’t overdose through casual contact with the skin) and are based on the accounts of first responders who thought they were overdosing but were actually experiencing panic attacks. Any criminal penalty must be based in reality.
Honorable mentions:
When ultra-conservative lawmakers struggled to gain broad support for their bill to allow librarians to be jailed for allowing children to access “obscene” materials, they amended it into the widely supported generative AI child porn bill, SB 741.
The Legislature is moving SB 601 — the “Women’s Bill of Rights” that does not remove the exception for spousal rape — instead of HB 5243, which was amended to include the change to criminal code.
The “Meet Baby Olivia” bill (SB 468) is still on the table. If legislators pass this at the 11th hour, we suspect multiple groups will be poised to immediately file legal challenges.
