Day 60: Come midnight, it'll be sweet, sweet 'sine die'
Doing this newsletter was fun, but we're sure glad the session is ending. You probably are, too.
Good morning and welcome to 60 Days.
Today is March 11th, 2023 — the 60th and final day of the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session.
Instead of coffee, we’re gonna need beer money tonight! This newsletter has been more work than we anticipated. Thank you for supporting 60 Days.
If a 60-day legislative session is a marathon, the final day is somewhat like a marathon inside of a marathon. Lawmakers will be on and off the floor throughout the day — until the clock strikes midnight and they adjourn sine die.
I don’t speak Latin, but I’ve come to learn that it means: “We’re tired, we’re out of here, and we don’t know when we’re coming back” — or something to that effect.
Nevertheless, if you’ve followed a deliberative body like the West Virginia Legislature, “sine die” is the sweetest two words of an entire session. It’s also the moment journalists will be scrambling to knock out their final night wrap-up stories and book it to the famous Red Carpet Lounge (a.k.a Le Carpet Rouge) — just down the block from the Capitol — to throw back a few drinks and blow off two months worth of steam.
To be honest, my own efforts to get to the Carpet were always a mixed bag. After all, I was working on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s “Final Hours” television production right up until midnight, rushing to get to leaders from the majority and minority and then banging out a digital story.
By the time I got to the Carpet, it was usually so packed they’d be turning people away. I’m not going to lie, though, I tended to use some connections either from the Capitol or from the bar itself to have someone prop the door open to get me in.
And there’s that whole “spring forward” time-warp thing that always hits on the final night (unless it’s an inauguration year and the session is bumped back a month).
Still, I’d always have a few drinks and say my annual goodbyes knowing I’d be working Sunday afternoon — only to be up early on Monday to go live on WVPB’s West Virginia Morning.
But before the Capitol press corps finally gets to hang it up — be it in print, radio or TV — the last day will stretch on and on. There will be motions to discharge bills that didn’t make it to the floor. Also, be ready for countless introductions of those sitting in the House and Senate galleries. What I’m trying to say is: an already long day somehow winds up feeling even longer.
So, enough rambling. Strap in and let’s get primed for Day 60.
— Dave
This morning, we’re not going to give you the full floor schedules or committee agendas. For one, committee meetings are nonexistent (except for possible meetings of the Rules Committee) — and the floor schedules posted will hardly reflect everything that goes up for a vote. That said, here are a few of the major issues that remain unresolved and where they are in the process.
H.B. 3018 - This bill would ban underage marriages and it wasn’t even on our radar until the Senate Judiciary Committee voted it down earlier this week, sparking a wave of national media attention. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Charles Trump (R-Morgan) successfully moved to discharge the bill from his committee and last night amended it to allow 16-year-olds to get married so long as their partner is no more than four years older than them. Initially, the bill would have prevented anyone under the age of 18 to get married. The bill is back in the hands of the House.
H.B. 2007 would ban gender-affirming care for minors. It was the subject of an emotional public hearing this session and protests from the medical and LGBTQ+ communities. Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha, who is a physician) successfully amended the bill last night, to put what he called “very strict guardrails” on the use of medication to treat severe cases of gender dysphoria. If the House agrees, gender-affirming medications would remain an option for minors in West Virginia in some cases.
H.B. 3135 is going back to the House after the Senate amended it. It’s the pay raise bill for top elected officials, including the governor, auditor, treasurer, attorney general and secretary of state.
S.B.740 is the pay raise bill for lawmakers. The bill would tie salary adjustments for senators and delegates to West Virgnia’s per capita income. The House amended the bill last night and sent it back to the Senate.
— Giles
As of this morning, there are more than 70 bills that have passed both sides, albeit with different versions. One side is trying to get the other to concur. Some of these bills will likely be agreed to in their current state, some will probably wind up in a conference committee and others may not be handled at all before time runs out. Here’s some highlights of the bills with that status:
H.B. 2008 - Requiring local entities to enforce immigration laws
H.B. 2890 - Modifying student discipline
H.B. 2346 Declaring a shortage of qualified bus operators and allowing retired bus operators to accept employment
H.B. 2820 To provide HOPE Scholarship recipients with the ability to play sports
H.B. 3084 Relating to revising provisions related to public charter schools
S.B. 121 Creating Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act
S.B. 187 Making it felony offense for school employee or volunteer to engage in sexual contact with students
S.B. 273 Relating to allocation of child protective workers in counties based upon population of county
S.B. 422 Requiring public schools to publish curriculum online at beginning of each new school year
S.B. 426 Banning use of certain products and platforms deemed unsafe or high risk on government systems
S.B. 495 Providing correctional institutions and juvenile facilities video and audio records be confidential
S.B. 552 Relating to abortion
— Giles
In addition, there are some notable bills that made it through the “Crossover Day” deadline but remain stuck in the hands of a committee.
This list is thin. There was quite the burst these past few days. Even so, completion of these bills would require discharge motions and the suspension of constitutional rules.
S.B. 129 - Limiting gubernatorial authority to spend certain federal funds without appropriation of Legislature
An obvious response to pandemic relief funds, this bill made it all the way to its second committee in the House this week. But it didn’t make it to the floor.
S.B. 130 - Anti-Racism Act of 2023
This bill was passed by the Senate on its first-day-rule-suspension blitz. With it being double-committee referenced in the House, it cleared the Education Committee on the last day of January, but was never taken up by the House Judiciary Committee.
H.B. 2538 - Requiring usage of child welfare information technology systems
This measure passed the House in late February and quickly got moving in the Senate, only to stall in the upper chamber’s Finance Committee.
— Dave
Before we let you go, here are a couple of links from yesterday's drama in the Senate. Sen. Robert Karnes (R-Randolph) was escorted from the chamber.
The AP’s Leah Willingham was in a good position to record video of Karnes shouting at Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) from the floor. And WVMetroNews reporter Brad McElhinny caught up with Karnes outside the chamber and got him on tape. Follow the link to hear what Karnes had to say. Brad included it in his story explaining what happened.
Senate's agenda is carnage as member protests 'Mr. President!' and is escorted out | WVMetroNews
West Virginia senator who interrupted session removed | The Associated Press
— Giles
Thanks again for joining us these past 60 days — and for keeping us caffeinated as we did somersaults and cartwheels switching between this newsletter and our NPR jobs.
As we’ve mentioned before, we’re cooking up a reimagined and rebranded project focused on West Virginia news and politics. We both love this state dearly and being involved in more local journalism is an itch we feel like we need to keep scratching.
But before we make a big reveal on all of that, we’re going to be toasting the end of the session tonight. We’ll be in Morgantown kicking back with a beer or two. Not exactly sure where we’ll be, but if you see us out and about tonight, do stop and say ‘hello.’
And maybe, BUY US A BEER!