Wednesday was cross-over day at the Legislature, where any bill that didn’t come out of its chamber of origin is now considered dead. Fortunately, some proposed legislation made it from one chamber to the other in time to escape a bureaucratic death.
Unfortunately, some proposed legislation made it from one chamber to the other in time to escape a bureaucratic death.
Today’s the Good, the Bad and the Stupid will focus on bills that still have time to become law.
Good: HB 4252 — the bill regarding insulin and device copay caps. We know we keep bringing this one up, but it is such an important bill. Thank you to everyone who contacted your representatives to get it moved out of the Senate Health and Human Resources committee. Unfortunately, it got sent to the Finance committee this week. There are fewer than 10 days left in the legislative session, but there is still time for it to pass. Our own Sen. Dave Sypolt is vice chair of the Finance committee. You can email him at dave.sypolt@wvsenate.gov or call 304-357-7914.
Bad: SB 498, the “Anti-Racism” bill — to prohibit an employee or representative of the West Virginia school system from compelling students, teachers or employees to “affirm, adopt or adhere to any belief or concept that: One race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior to another …; an individual, by virtue of his or her race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin should be blamed for actions committed in the past …; or an individual’s moral character is necessarily determined … by his or her race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin” — and then some.
The original SB 498 cracked down on any teaching or discussion surrounding race or sex and gave the “aggrieved” parties the right to sue teachers or schools. The amended version removes the ability to sue; instead, it sets up a system for making, appealing and reporting complaints. It also adds freedom of speech protections, as well as protection for discussing the prohibited topics if alternate theories are given and/or discussing how race, sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin impacted historical or current events. It will also force universities to accept, without complaint, any “ideas put forth [that] are thought by some or even by most members of the university community to be offensive, unwise, immoral or misguided.” In other words, racist, homophobic and/or xenophobic speech on campus will now be protected.
Stupid: HB 2598 — to state that above ground storage tanks “210 barrels or less, containing brine water or other fluids produced in connection with hydrocarbon transmission, storage, and production activities” and ones “10,000 gallons or less, containing sodium chloride or calcium chloride water for roadway snow and ice pretreatment” in a zone of critical concern (within five hours upstream of a drinking water intake) need only be “self-inspected and self-certified by its owner or operator at least once per year” and have a secondary containment inspections “performed and documented by the owner or operator at least once per month.”
Remember the 2014 Freedom Industries chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water supply for 300,000 people? HB 2598 further weakens the already scaled back laws responding to that catastrophe, which have already been scaled back multiple times.
If there is one thing we’ve learned from various chemical spills and mine collapses, it’s that companies will lie about safety hazards if addressing them would cost money. Asking companies to self-certify their tanks are in perfect condition — regardless of size, but especially in zones of critical concern — is akin to asking the fox to guard the henhouse. It looks like the Legislature is trying to deregulate our state to death.
Fortunately, the House’s efforts to declaw the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training by turning inspections into “visits,” violations into “concerns or safety issues” and fines into “recommendations or other assistance” seems to have died. But keep an eye on the Senate next week to make sure it isn’t resurrected as an amendment to a different bill.
