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Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WV Senate Democrats raise legal concerns with DEI bill's passage
Sens. Joey Garcia, D-Marion (above), and Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, wrote a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Senate President Randy Smith and Senate Clerk Lee Cassis to say Republicans made procedural errors in passing Senate Bill 474, and asked the governor to veto the bill. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Democrats in the West Virginia Senate are urging Gov. Patrick Morrisey not to sign a bill they say was not legally passed because of a 'series of procedural irregularities.' The letter concerns the Senate's passage of Senate Bill 474, a governor-requested bill that would end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the state. The House of Delegates passed the bill late on Saturday, the last day of the 60-day legislative session. The Democrats say the Senate erred in the procedures it took late Saturday night as it approved the House's amended version of the bill. In a letter to the governor, Senate President Randy Smith and Senate Clerk Lee Cassis Thursday, Sens. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Joey Garcia, D-Marion, the only two senators from the minority party, say that Senate Republicans improperly suspended a rule they apparently used to bypass considering several pending amendments from Garcia and pass the bill in the final minutes of session. They also argue the Republicans made two other procedural errors. 'Due to the Senate's patent disregard of established legislative procedure, the bill did not properly complete legislative action, and it should not be enrolled, authenticated, or presented to the Governor for approval,' the letter says. 'If the bill is sent to the Governor, it must be vetoed on technical grounds due to the Senate's failure to adhere to its own binding rules of procedure.' The Senate originally passed the bill March 26. The House passed the bill at 10:41 p.m. Saturday after nearly three hours of debate. When the bill went back to the Senate to approve the House's changes, more than a dozen amendments from Garcia appeared to be pending on the legislation. Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, at first made a motion to concur with the House's changes to the bill and pass it. The senate stood at ease for a few minutes before Grady withdrew the motion. A few minutes later, Sen. Eric Tar, R-Putnam, moved to suspend Joint Rule 3, which governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers, and concur and pass Senate Bill 474. The rule suspension required a two-thirds roll call vote by both chambers, but the approval was made by a voice vote and with objections heard. The Senate then passed the bill with a 31-2 vote. A short time later, Tarr moved to reconsider the vote by which they concurred and passed the bill. The Democrats argue that the Senate failed to properly reconsider the motion. Tarr instead moved to withdraw his motion and then moved to concur with the House's version of the bill. Next, Senate Majority Leader Patrick Martin, R-Lewis, moved the previous question. Smith turned down Garcia's request that pending amendments be considered, saying that another motion had been called. The Senate then voted again to concur with the House's version of the bill and then passed the bill. Even if the Senate's first passage of the bill was done properly, the Democrats argue, the Senate was required to consider the pending amendments before it could concur in the House's changes to the bill, and they failed to do so. 'If the senator and the governor don't do the right thing, I think this will be litigated and the bill will go down in flames,' Garcia said in an interview with West Virginia MetroNews Thursday. The West Virginia Democratic Party and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia have also condemned the way the bill was passed. The ACLU-WV wrote in a blog post Monday that the Senate likely broke its own rules in rushing the bill through at the last minute. 'If Gov. Morrisey signs the bill (which we fully expect he will) then we will see the state in court,' the organization wrote. Representatives for Morrisey and Smith did not comment Thursday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WV Senate Democrats raise legal concerns with DEI bill's passage
Sens. Joey Garcia, D-Marion (above), and Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, wrote a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Senate President Randy Smith and Senate Clerk Lee Cassis to say Republicans made procedural errors in passing Senate Bill 474, and asked the governor to veto the bill. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Democrats in the West Virginia Senate are urging Gov. Patrick Morrisey not to sign a bill they say was not legally passed because of a 'series of procedural irregularities.' The letter concerns the Senate's passage of Senate Bill 474, a governor-requested bill that would end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the state. The House of Delegates passed the bill late on Saturday, the last day of the 60-day legislative session. The Democrats say the Senate erred in the procedures it took late Saturday night as it approved the House's amended version of the bill. In a letter to the governor, Senate President Randy Smith and Senate Clerk Lee Cassis Thursday, Sens. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Joey Garcia, D-Marion, the only two senators from the minority party, say that Senate Republicans improperly suspended a rule they apparently used to bypass considering several pending amendments from Garcia and pass the bill in the final minutes of session. They also argue the Republicans made two other procedural errors. 'Due to the Senate's patent disregard of established legislative procedure, the bill did not properly complete legislative action, and it should not be enrolled, authenticated, or presented to the Governor for approval,' the letter says. 'If the bill is sent to the Governor, it must be vetoed on technical grounds due to the Senate's failure to adhere to its own binding rules of procedure.' The Senate originally passed the bill March 26. The House passed the bill at 10:41 p.m. Saturday after nearly three hours of debate. When the bill went back to the Senate to approve the House's changes, more than a dozen amendments from Garcia appeared to be pending on the legislation. Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, at first made a motion to concur with the House's changes to the bill and pass it. The senate stood at ease for a few minutes before Grady withdrew the motion. A few minutes later, Sen. Eric Tar, R-Putnam, moved to suspend Joint Rule 3, which governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers, and concur and pass Senate Bill 474. The rule suspension required a two-thirds roll call vote by both chambers, but the approval was made by a voice vote and with objections heard. The Senate then passed the bill with a 31-2 vote. A short time later, Tarr moved to reconsider the vote by which they concurred and passed the bill. The Democrats argue that the Senate failed to properly reconsider the motion. Tarr instead moved to withdraw his motion and then moved to concur with the House's version of the bill. Next, Senate Majority Leader Patrick Martin, R-Lewis, moved the previous question. Smith turned down Garcia's request that pending amendments be considered, saying that another motion had been called. The Senate then voted again to concur with the House's version of the bill and then passed the bill. Even if the Senate's first passage of the bill was done properly, the Democrats argue, the Senate was required to consider the pending amendments before it could concur in the House's changes to the bill, and they failed to do so. 'If the senator and the governor don't do the right thing, I think this will be litigated and the bill will go down in flames,' Garcia said in an interview with West Virginia MetroNews Thursday. The West Virginia Democratic Party and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia have also condemned the way the bill was passed. The ACLU-WV wrote in a blog post Monday that the Senate likely broke its own rules in rushing the bill through at the last minute. 'If Gov. Morrisey signs the bill (which we fully expect he will) then we will see the state in court,' the organization wrote. Representatives for Morrisey and Smith did not comment Thursday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Dirty tricks:' DEI ban passes in final minutes of WV session amid procedural shenanigans
Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, gave a passionate speech about diversity, equity and inclusion during the final night of the legislative session on the House floor on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in Charleston, (Perry Bennett |West Virginia Legislative Photography) Through what Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, called 'dirty tricks' in the last 30 minutes of the 2025 regular session, Republican lawmakers in the Senate passed a bill Saturday to ban nearly all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the state of West Virginia. The bill passed the House at 10:41 p.m. after nearly three hours of debate. When the bill advanced to the Senate, 13 amendments from Garcia appeared to be pending on the legislation. Then, confusion reigned. Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, made a motion to suspend legislative Joint Rule 3 — a rule that governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers. That motion was adopted and the Senate then concurred with and passed the House's version of the bill 31-2 without any consideration of Garcia's amendments. After a short break — and as several attorneys and the chamber's parliamentarian gathered at Senate President Randy Smith's podium — Tarr withdrew his initial motion to suspend legislative Joint Rule 3 due to a technical error. The vote would need to be done again. 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 motion after confusing motion was considered, the microphones for both 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. In an interview after the chaos, Smith, R-Preston, said he also didn't quite understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of SB 474. His job, he said, is to preside over the body and the process, but other people tell him what is within the rules and not. 'This was a procedure I've never seen in my 13 years in the House or the Senate,' Smith said '… We have a parliamentarian who knows the rules very well, probably better than anybody in the Senate. Sen. Tarr knows the procedure very well … As far as I'm concerned, as the procedure and rules, everything was in order.' If it wasn't, Smith said, someone will need to challenge the law's legitimacy in court. But for now, it heads to Gov. Patrick Morrisey's desk for approval. Garcia, in an interview after the Senate adjourned Sine Die for the session, said he believed there is a 'legal deficiency' in the legislation. 'I have questions whether this bill actually did pass,' Garcia said. '… [Republicans in the Senate] will take short cuts, break rules, whatever it takes to get their agenda passed.' Senate Bill 474 bans the offering of specific services or opportunities to people based on their race, color, ethnicity, country of origin and, in some instances, sex. The bill only applies to DEI policies and initiatives in state and local governments and schools, including institutions of higher education. Garcia's attempt to hold up the bill came after his colleagues in the House — mostly Democrats — employed similar tactics. There, 27 amendments were filed by lawmakers. Just three of those were adopted. Those voted down included moves to include the Crown Act — a policy banning discrimination based on hairstyles and textures — in the bill, as well as adding nondiscrimination measures based on political beliefs and exempting parts of the bill from applying to veterans, among other measures. Democrats in the body gave fiery speeches against the overall bill, namely Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, who is one of just three Black lawmakers in the state Legislature. Hamilton told her colleagues that DEI measures are not about giving people of color or other classes special treatment; they're about ensuring everyone has equal ability to apply for and access the same opportunities. She shared her experiences dealing with system racism in West Virginia and, specifically, at the Legislature. Her points were echoed by her colleagues, Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, and Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, who are also Black. Not recognizing the existence of racism or sexism, Hamilton said, will only hold West Virginia back. 'Diversity, equity and inclusion matters,' Hamilton said. 'If we don't embrace these principles, we don't have a bone in the race of this Backyard Brawl. We'll continue to lose every year … I just pray that we can not only abolish this legislation, we can abolish the mentality and ideology that goes along with it, and the energy.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
