Gov. Patrick Morrisey addresses the public during his first State of the State speech on February 12, 2025, calling for the elimination of the state’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
There are only 11 days left in the legislative session, and 26 bills have made it to the governor’s desk.
The Legislature’s success is determined not by the number of bills it passes, but by whether those bills benefit West Virginians.
Let us start with the good bills.
Senate Bill 283 would require students to complete a personal finance course in order to graduate from high school. I’m not a fan of the Legislature telling schools what to teach — they don’t even understand their own governing body’s rules — but this is an important life skill.
Not everyone’s family will teach them how to budget, file their taxes, or even write a check. Some of us are “blessed” with anxiety (I’m talking about myself) and are frugal with our money.
Some people are more laissez faire and may spend, spend, spend without thinking about saving or paying bills when they first start out on their own. To be honest, it’s surprising that schools haven’t already started teaching personal finance; it’s not all common sense.
Senate Bill 8 also has some positive effects. It offers additional locations and devices for safe newborn surrender. These are locations where a baby can be dropped off without facing legal consequences for abandonment.
It would also be beneficial if the Legislature passed a few bills that provide more assistance to families with children. They could help to make child care more affordable and accessible, as well as ensure that parents receive paid parental leave.
There are already almost 5,900 children in foster care, and I don’t see the Legislature doing anything to reduce those numbers. This brings us to the bills that harmed rather than helped West Virginians. These include bills that would make voting more difficult and eliminate ranked-choice voting (which was already prohibited in West Virginia).
And let’s not forget about the transphobic legislation, Senate Bill 456, which is billed as a bill to define “men” and “women,” but is really just a target on transgender people.
Another anti-LGBTQ+ bill is being considered in the House and could be sent to the governor soon. The Senate has already passed Senate Bill 579, which would repeal local municipalities’ Fairness Acts.
That’s right, the “small government” party is pushing for legislation that would prohibit city councils and county commissions from enacting their own anti-discrimination ordinances because the state refuses to pass its own.
One West Virginia Republican believes that racism is no longer a problem.
“I don’t know where this came from, this idea that we are a racist country, that we don’t give equality to women or different religions or whatever the case may be,” said Sen. Scott Fuller, R-Wayne, who supports a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion in state government. “Does racism exist?” I am sure it does. This isn’t a perfect world, and we don’t live in a perfect society, but is it a problem? I honestly don’t believe it.
The Republican Party is keeping discrimination alive and well in West Virginia by passing bills that target LGBTQ+ people, refusing to pass the Crown Act, and repealing DEI programs.
Democrats in both the House and the Senate have introduced bills related to the Crown Act. Why are Republicans afraid to make discrimination based on hairstyle and texture illegal?
How can anyone argue that diversity, equity, and inclusion are bad? What’s so bad about inclusion? The bill for Governor Patrick Morrisey’s executive order has only one sponsor, Senate President Randy Smith. Governor, please tell West Virginians what exactly you dislike about diversity.
DEI programs have benefited white women, LGTBQ+ individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities. I frequently hear people claim that DEI causes less qualified people to be hired over the most qualified white male candidate, which is simply not true.
In other words, these programs benefited West Virginians. That is the West Virginia I want to live in—where we help each other rather than hate each other.
