Dems criticize West Virginia Senate Republicans for ‘blatantly violating rules' in passing DEI bill
West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith, seen on the final night of the session on April 12, 2025, said that he didn't understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of Senate Bill 474. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
The West Virginia Democratic Party on Tuesday condemned Senate Republicans' passage of a bill ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state, saying the way they did so violated the Legislature's rules.
'What happened on the Senate floor was nothing short of disgraceful,' Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said in a release Tuesday. 'They did not allow any debate. They didn't even allow us to take up the amendments we had filed in the system and have a hearing on each of them — which I believe, under the rules, is something that had to happen. The rules were simply not followed.'
The Senate passed Senate Bill 474 March 26. The House of Delegates passed it at 10:41 p.m. Saturday, a little over an hour before the legislative session ended.
When the bill got back to the Senate to concur with House changes to the legislation, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, made a motion to suspend Joint Legislative Rule 3, which governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers. The motion was adopted and the Senate concurred without considering any of the 13 amendments to the bill that Garcia filed.
Minutes later, Tarr withdrew the motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 due to a technical error. Another member then moved the previous question to consider the Joint Rule 3 motion again and concur with and pass the House's version of Senate Bill 474. Again, the Senate voted 31-2 approving the bill.
As motions were considered, microphones for Garcia and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell — the lone no votes on the bill — were muted while they attempted to call points of order on Tarr's motions as well as Smith's rulings.
According to the Democrats, Tarr's motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 required a two-thirds vote by the Senate and concurrence by the House of Delegates, neither of which happened.
The Democrats also criticized comments from Senate President Randy Smith, who said after the chaos that he didn't understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of the bill. His job, he told West Virginia Watch, is to preside over the body and the process, but other people tell him what is within the rules and not.
'The Senate President is the presiding officer of the Senate. It's literally his job to make sure rules and procedures are properly followed,' West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin said in the news release. 'In this instance, President Smith didn't just neglect his duties; he actively abdicated his responsibility.'
Smith, through a spokeswoman for the Senate, did not comment further on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 474 is the legislative side of an executive order posed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey that bans offering specific services or opportunities to people based on their race, color, ethnicity, country of origin and, in some instances, sex. It's reflective of a trend spearheaded by Republicans nationwide meant to undermine and end DEI in all its forms.
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