Every Legislative session we track hundreds of bills and resolutions. This year you can see all the legislation we are following. Our tracking list will be updated daily to reflect newly introduced legislation, the progress of introduced bills, and amendments to bills that may change their effect or our position on the bill. You can find more information about specific bills on the West Virginia Legislature's website. Be sure to check back regularly for more in-depth descriptions of key bills as well.
Chamber and Type | Number | Title | Our Position | Explanation |
---|---|---|---|---|
HB | 2002 | Education Savings Account | Oppose | Education savings accounts take money from public education. Public money is often used for religious education. And because ESA's rarely cover the full cost of private education, so it is primarily families with resources who benefit. |
HB | 2008 | Relating to nonpartisan election of justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals | Support | This bill provides a run-off for Supreme Court of Appeals elections if the candidate does not reach a 40% thresh hold. This would be an improvement over election by a small plurality. |
HB | 2012 | Establishing country roads accountability and transparency | Support | Roads may not be an ACLU issue. However, expanding government transparency is. |
HB | 2025 | Requiring the Human Rights Commission, when investigating a complaint of discrimination, to specifically include an examination of the intent of the person | Oppose | Intent is notoriously hard to prove, and this bill will limit the ability of the Human Rights Commission to exercise its role in protecting people who face discrimination. |
HB | 2029 | Relating to Public Defender Services | Support | This bill provides a pay increase and potential government benefits for attorneys who take on court-appointed defense work. This should increase the availability of defense attorneys leading to smaller case loads and better representation for defendants. |
HB | 2031 | Permitting persons who have been issued state licenses to carry concealed deadly weapons to carry those weapons on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex | Oppose | While the West Virginia Constitution does provide an individual right to carry a firearm, the presence of firearms can stifle necessary debate on controversial topics. |
HB | 2032 | Permitting the carrying of concealed weapons on the campus of a state institution of higher education | Neutral | This legislation raises concerns about stifling debate on controversial topics. The ACLU will monitor to see how the legislation develops. |
HB | 2033 | Establishing procedures for carrying out the death sentence | Oppose | The ACLU unequivocally opposes the death sentence |
HB | 2050 | Prohibiting confidential settlement terms of a contested case involving sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault | Neutral | Nondisclosure agreements are legally fraught, and, and the 'Me Too' movement demonstrated, serial offenders often use these agreements to continue predatory behavior. However, there are privacy concerns that need to be monitored in legislation like this. |
HB | 2056 | Repealing the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act and restoring prior law | Support | The ACLU of WV oppposed the 'Right to Work' legislation and would support its repeal |
HB | 2060 | Relating to the procedures for driver's license suspension and revocation in criminal proceedings for driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs | Neutral | This bill eliminates Administrative hearings for the suspension or revokation of drivers licenses. We will follow this closely to ensure that due process protections remain in place. |
HB | 2062 | The Healthy and Safe Workplace Act | Neutral | This bill provides protections and a course of action to prevent workplace bullying. Steps to prevent workplace harassment are good. However, we will monitor to ensure that adaquate 1st amendment protections remain in place. |
HB | 2066 | Establishing an alternative methodology for pretrial release of persons charged with crimes | Support | This is one bail reform proposal. The proposal guides the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to study and then develop a rule that would reduce the use of financial conditions for pretrial release. |
HB | 2074 | Life at Conception Act of 2019 | Oppose | The legislation expands the definition of person and the protections of the 14th amendment to all stages of the human development process. This has significant repercussions for abortion rights, and would create significant other legal complications. |
HB | 2080 | Authorizing possession and smoking of medical cannabis by approved persons | Support | This expands the medical cannabis program to smoking of medical cannabis. |
HB | 2096 | Relating to the juvenile justice reform oversight committee | Support | This bill encourages the juvenile justice reform oversight committee to provide further information regarding cost-savings from prior reforms and directs those savings to be put into an account to fund further reforms. |
HB | 2100 | Establishing a pilot program to develop school-based mental and behavioral health services | Support | This bill creates a pilot program to combine school-based diversion with school-based mental health services. This is a way to both keep kids out of the school-to-prison pipeline and connect them with services without the courts. |
HB | 2109 | Extending the maximum period of confinement a judge may impose for certain, first-time probationary violations | Oppose | This bill increases the possible sentence for first-time probation violations. This will likely result in more people in jail for minor and/or technical violations. |
HB | 2120 | Providing local government the authority to place video cameras at road intersections | Neutral | This bill allows traffic cameras to help determine the cause of traffic accidents. It specifically forbids the use for traffic law enforcement. Additional privacy protections would strengthen this bill. |
HB | 2126 | Requiring county boards of education to provide released time for professional educators and service personnel when serving in an elected municipal or county office | Support | This small change ensures that teachers and school staff are assured time off to serve in municipal and county elected offices. |
HB | 2134 | Requiring retail establishments offering gasoline or other motor fuel to provide refueling assistance and refueling access to persons with a disability | Support | This is a disability-rights piece of legislation which helps ensure people with certain limitations are able to get assistance when refueling their vehicles. |
HB | 2137 | Requiring persons who are in the business of purchasing precious metals and precious gems to photograph those purchases and to transmit the photographs to law-enforcement | Neutral | This bill makes changes to a criminal sentencing guideline - reducing a crime from a felony to a misdemeanor. However, there are concerns about requiring information be provided to law enforcement. The ACLU will monitor to ensure the legislation is not monitored in a manner that would negatively affect rights. |
HB | 2142 | Issuing identification documents to homeless individuals residing at homeless shelters | Support | The lack of ID is often a barrier to services, housing and employment for homeless individuals. This bill provides that they are eligible for a free ID. |
HB | 2153 | Relating to social determinants of health | Support | This legislation focuses on studying social and economic factors affecting minority comunities and developing projects to assist those communities based on findings. |
HB | 2155 | Relating to Capitol Complex security access | Oppose | This legislation gives lobbyists and those with financial means greater access to the Capitol than other citizens. |
HB | 2158 | Relating to alternate sentencing for nonviolent felony offenders | Support | This allows judges to impose the felony-minimum of 1 year for non-violent felonies. The law would override mandatory minimum sentences and reassert judicial discretion in some cases. |
HB | 2161 | Prohibiting sexual offenders from residing within one thousand feet of a school or childcare facility | Oppose | This bill would mandate certain sexual offenders are on GPS monitoring for the rest of their lives and could not reside within 1000 feet of a school or daycare facility. The ACLU opposes these types of blanket-restrictions as opposed to case-by-case assessments of proper release conditions. Additionally, these restrictions can effectively eliminate all viable housing options in some communities. |
HB | 2162 | West Virginia Native American Tribes Unique Recognition, Authentication and Listing Act | Neutral | This bill provides recognition of certain First Nation Tribes in West Virginia and protects other individuals or groups from appropriating and profiting from the tribal name. Generally, the ACLU supports this concept. However after discussion with some First Nation individuals, there are concerns about what tribes are, and are not included. The ACLU will not take a position until these issues are resolved. |
HB | 2164 | Clarifying that appeals to the Supreme Court are a matter of right | Support | This bill requires that all appeals the the WV Supreme Court of Appeals are a matter of right and are given a written decision on the merits. The ACLU supports this as a necessary check and balance in our legal system. |
HB | 2169 | Allowing a group of affiliated voters to become a recognized political party under certain criteria | Support | This expands which groups will be recognized as a political party in WV. This in turn helps foster representation and civic participation. |
HB | 2192 | Requiring pawnbrokers to providing certain information to law-enforcement agencies | Oppose | This bill creates significant privacy concerns. |
HB | 2194 | Creating a domestic violence registry | Oppose | The ACLU is broadly opposed to registries. |
HB | 2195 | Creating the West Virginia Sentencing Commission | Support | Generally, the ACLU wants to see reform in our sentencing laws, and the sentencing commission is a way to acheive that goal. However, negative experiences with the federal sentencing commission as well as sentencing commissions in other states means we will be monitoring this closely. |
HB | 2199 | Requiring pawnbrokers to provide certain information to law-enforcement agencies | Oppose | This bill creates significant privacy concerns. |
HB | 2211 | Budget and Spending Transparency Act | Neutral | This bill requires the creation of a searchable database of all public expenditures and information related to those expenditures. Broadly, the ACLU supports this type of transparency. However, since some of the information required by the bill is unlikely to be feasible, we will monitor for improvements. |
HB | 2212 | Requiring bail bondsman and bail bond enforcer be subject to random drug testing | Oppose | While the ACLU has serious misgivings about the entire bail-bond industry, suspicionless drug tests are a serious infringement of privacy. |
HB | 2215 | Making it a felony to knowingly expose another individual to HIV | Oppose | This bill treats HIV different from any other communicable disease, and further stigmitizes it. |
HB | 2217 | Requiring all local special elections to be held on the days and hours of general, primary or state-wide elections | Support | By requiring all elections to take place on similar dates, it makes it easier for people to keep track of upcoming elections and participate. |
HB | 2218 | Modifying the definition of child abuse or neglect to exclude accidental injury | Support | This bill will prevents criminalization, family separation, and contribution to the foster crisis for reasonable accidents. |
HB | 2227 | Nondiscrimination in Involuntary Denial of Treatment Act | Support | This bill makes it harder for physicians to over-ride life-sustaining care based on the condition of a patient. This is both a matter of respecting bodily autonomy and disability rights. |
HB | 2308 | Katherine Johnson Fair Pay Act of 2019 | Support | This bill ensures that employers cannot prohibit empolyees from discussing salaries and benefits, and prevents employers from inquiring about salary history. This is a good way to rectify gender and racial pay disparities. |
HB | 2317 | Requiring the release of an unemancipated minor's medical records for drug testing | Oppose | This violates the privacy rights of minors. |
HB | 2320 | Establishing a special memorial day to be known as Juneteenth honoring human rights and the end of slavery in the United States | Support | The ACLU supports recognition of Juneteenth. |
HB | 2325 | Relating to net neutrality for state government | Support | The internet is a primary forum for many types of speech and the government can and should ensure that there is equal access to that forum. |
HB | 2327 | Relating to public school education in dating violence, domestic abuse and sexual violence prevention | Support | This would require using evidence-based methods to teach students about issues regarding sexual and domestic violence, which is an important tool in prevention. |
HB | 2328 | Relating to designation of social workers in the Department of Health and Human Services | Support | This would provide greater collaboration between social workers and the schools, including identifying at-risk youth and connecting those students with appropriate services. This could better serve youth with health needs and reduce the school-to-prison pipeline. |
HB | 2331 | Relating to legalizing cannabis production, sales and adult consumption | Support | The ACLU supports ending the failed War on Drugs through decriminalization and legalization. |
HB | 2335 | Family Protection Act | Support | This law would help to reduce gender wage and employment disparities by making it illegal to discriminate based on family responsibilities. |
HB | 2345 | Developing a resource for use by parents to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing children's receptive and expressive language | Support | This would create a process to help ensure that youth with auditory disabilities are receiving appropriate early intervention to meet certain academic benchmarks. |
HB | 2347 | Providing long-term care and substance abuse treatment | Support | The ACLU supports the expansion of health care for people with substance abuse disorder and other chronic health issues. However, we will monitor this to ensure that these facilities are not used for long term involuntary commitments. |
HB | 2348 | Authorizing magistrates to order emergency removal of child when parent's drug use creates unsafe environment | Neutral | Family separation is an extreme measure that creates truama for all involved. This legislation attempts to create an appropriate balance between due process rights and child welfare, however further examination is necessary. |
HB | 2350 | Permitting public employees the right to collectively bargain | Support | Collective bargaining is an important element in the freedom of association that is foundational to labor rights. |
HB | 2368 | Relating to education to children and adults housed in correctional facilities and regional jails | Support | This bill removes language that makes apporpiate youth and adult education contingent on funding. |
HB | 2376 | Relating to the legalization of marijuana | Support | The ACLU supports ending the failed War on Drugs through decriminalization and legalization. |
HB | 2382 | Making it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly allow a felony drug offense to be committed on his or her property | Oppose | Creating new crimes will not resolve the addiction crisis. Property owners have a very tenuous link to criminal activity, even if they were aware the activity was occurring. |
HB | 2383 | Creating a pilot program for expansion of school-based mental health and school-based diversion | Support | This bill creates a pilot program to combine school-based diversion with school-based mental health services. This is a way to both keep kids out of the school-to-prison pipeline and connect them with services without the courts. |
HB | 2387 | Requiring the Commissioner of Highways to verify legal employment status of contractors and vendors' employees for certain road and bridge contracts | Oppose | This bill contributes to discrimination against people with certain ethnic backgrounds, and will hurt immigrant communities. |
HB | 2395 | Providing school days to register and transport students to vote | Support | This encourages civic engagement. |
HB | 2397 | Requiring county school boards to provide adequate mental health and counseling services | Support | This bill requires counties to have appropriate services to identify and provide treatment for at-risk students. This provides an alternative to services required through the juvenile justice system and better services youth with unmet health needs. |
HB | 2406 | Exempting persons with valid religious objections from having their photographs taken and placed on government licenses | Support | This is a basic protection for religious freedom. |
HB | 2419 | Relating to the authorization to release a defendant or a person arrested upon his or her own recognizance | Support | This bill provides another version of bail reform. It creates a presumption that a person will be released without having to post bail for certain non-violent classes of crimes. For all other crimes it creates a "least restrictive" standard and enumnerates the factors to be considered in pretrial determinations and alternatives to pretrial incarceration. |
HB | 2432 | Electing members of county school boards on a nonpartisan basis in general elections | Support | Nonpartisan elections help to encourage third-party and non-partisan candidates to run. This expands democratic participation. |
HB | 2444 | Prosecuting Attorney's Detectives Act | Neutral | Many prosecutors already hire detectives. By providing guidelines and pofessional standars, this can help to reign in potential bad behavior. However, the language also deputizes these individuals, and the ACLU is skeptical about expanding police powers. |
HB | 2445 | Creating the Independent Redistricting Commission of the Joint Committee on Government and Finance | Support | Partisan gerrymandering is a threat to democratic representation and participation. This would reduce that practice. |
HB | 2453 | Relating to eligibility for parole | Support | This is a small reform to parole allowing people who have accumulated 30 years of good time credits and served time to be parole-eligible. |
HB | 2456 | Relating to the definition of a political party for all state and local elections | Support | This expands the definition of a third party and the elections in which third parties get state recognition. The ACLU supports this as expanding democracy. |
HB | 2457 | Educational Equality Act | Oppose | This is an educational tax credit. The ACLU opposes these as removing funding from public education and freeing state money up for things like religious education. |
HB | 2458 | Providing that West Virginia will not participate in the REAL ID Act of 2005 | Support | The ACLU has opposed the REAL ID program under privacy concerns. |
HB | 2464 | Requiring free feminine hygiene products in grades 6 through 12 | Support | Lack of acceess to menstrual products can interfere with a student's ability to attend or participate in school. People should not be denied equal access to educational opportunities. |
HB | 2471 | Increasing criminal penalties for impersonation of law-enforcement officers or officials | Oppose | The ACLU oppose sentence enhancements or increasing criminal penalties. The bill was amended to reduce the presribed sentences. |
HB | 2473 | Prohibiting the private ownership or operation of a prison | Support | West Virginia currently does not have any private prissons, and this legislation would ensure that that remain the case. |
HB | 2488 | Relating to the theft of consumer identity protections | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements and mandatory minimum sentences. |
HB | 2494 | Relating to the ineligibility for home incarceration for offenders under certain circumstances | Oppose | Incarceration is an extreme and traumatic way to address criminal behavior. We should be looking for ways to expand alternatives to incarceration, not limit them. |
HB | 2497 | Relating to the whistle-blower law | Support | This provides additional protections for whistle-blowers. Whistleblower protections are important to protect government transparency and identify issues of bad governance. |
HB | 2502 | Prohibiting registered sex offenders from participating in Halloween activities | Oppose | The ACLU opposes the use of registries. Laws like this put blanket restrictions on people, denying them due process through individual assessments of appropriate restrictions. |
HB | 2505 | Relating to the ineligibility for probation of certain defendants | Oppose | This bill would deny parole to any person who had been convicted of 2 unrelated felonies. |
HB | 2508 | Relating to certain defendants ineligible for probation | Oppose | This bill would deny parole to any person who had been convicted of 2 unrelated felonies. |
HB | 2519 | The Campus Self Defense Act | Neutral | This legislation raises concerns about stifling debate on controversial topics. The ACLU will monitor to see how the legislation develops. |
HB | 2526 | Creating an offense for public intoxication due to drug use | Oppose | This is an expansion of failed war on drug policies. It will likely result in people with disabilities being misidentified as intoxicated and subject to arrest. |
HB | 2549 | Relating to compulsory school attendance | Oppose | This bill would reset the number of absences triggering a truancy action back to 5. Prior to refroms in 2015, truancy was the biggest driver of youth into the juvenile justice system. |
HB | 2562 | Requiring the issuance of a search warrant before a driver of a motor vehicle can be made to submit to a secondary blood test | Support | Blood tests are highly invasive and requiring a warrant is a good due process protection. |
HB | 2563 | Relating to civil asset forfeiture | Support | This bill would require that in a civil proceeding to forfeit property under law enforcement action, there must be a showing that the owner was convicted of a crimal offense. |
HB | 2581 | Requiring recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program be issued a photo identification card | Oppose | This bill would create criminal penalties for any person who uses a SNAP card that is not issued to them. This fails to account for people with families or disabilities. |
HB | 2593 | Limiting the increase or decrease of state funding to a county board of education | Neutral | The state has a constitutional obligation to create a thorogh and efficient education system. Any changes that could affect funding are monitored to ensure that obligation is met. |
HB | 2605 | Relating to the regular election of officers on state general election day | Support | If passed, municipalities would be required to run a ballot question during the next election asking if future municipal elections should fall on the state general election day. Doing so would likely increase voter participation, but by putting the question to voters, local control is maintained. |
HB | 2620 | Modifying the contact requirements with a student's guardians upon accrual of unexcused absences | Neutral | This changes the state truancy law, allowing schools to make meaningful contact with parents or guardians, rather than sending a letter when unexcused absesnses start to accumulate. This is a good change. However the bill also removes the explicit authority to revise the number of unexcused absences after speaking with a parent or guardian which is a necessary protection if the student was marked absent or unenexcused improperly. |
HB | 2632 | Tim Tebow Act | Oppose | This bill would require local public schools allow home-school or private-school students participate in public school academics or athletics. This requires schools to make expenditures for a student that they are not otherwise receiving money for. |
HB | 2634 | Requiring school bus aides, who are trained in preventing bullying and providing a safe environment for students while being transported on a school bus, to be present on school buses | Neutral | The purpose of this bill is straightforward. Schools have a duty to provide a safe learning environment for all students. To that end this is a good piece of legislation, however, appropriate protections must be written in to ensure this does not lead to overuse of the disciplinary or judical system. |
HB | 2640 | Making all inmates regardless of sex eligible to work on a state convict road force | Neutral | The ACLU supports ending discrimination on the basis of sex. However, we oppose the use of prison labor. |
HB | 2645 | Relating to power of security guards to arrest individuals | Oppose | Those with police powers have the unique ability to affect the most basic rights of people. We should be wary of expanding those powers to people with even less training. |
HB | 2664 | The West Virginia Refugee Absorptive Capacity Act | Oppose | This bill allows municpalities to refuse to accept refugees. People, regardless of their national origin have the right to relocate live freely. |
HB | 2679 | Relating to state issued identification cards | Support | This bill provides for non-photographic ID cards for people with religious objections to being photographed. |
HB | 2683 | Establishing a bill of rights of children in foster care | Support | Although a bill full of aspirational language with little substantive legal changes, the rights in this bill are still important to articulate. |
HB | 2685 | Refugee Information Act | Oppose | This requires significant reporting on refugees in the state. The bill is unnecessary, and discriminatory. It is based on and perpetuates negative and false stereotypes of refugees. |
HB | 2689 | Relating to replacing the present crime of burglary with the crime of home invasion | Oppose | This bill imposes much longer mandatory minimum sentences. The ACLU opposes mandatory minimums and any policy that will contribute to mass incarceration. |
HB | 2712 | Relating to death penalty for first degree murder | Oppose | The ACLU is unequivocally opposed to the death penalty. |
HB | 2713 | Expunging records of unsubstantiated complaints made by the Department of Health and Human Resources against teachers | Support | This bill provides that if a complaint is made against a teacher and after an investigation, the complaint is found not to be substantiated, that the issue is removed from a teacher's record. The ACLU supports this as a matter of process and privacy. |
HB | 2732 | Defend the Guard Act | Support | This bill prohibits the deployment of the West Virginia National Guard without a Congressional declaration of war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. |
HB | 2733 | Adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the categories covered by the Human Rights Act | Support | The ACLU strongly supports protections for people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. |
HB | 2741 | Relating to unlawful discriminatory practices in categories covered by the Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act | Support | This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. The ACLU strongly supports these protections. |
HB | 2742 | Making available elective courses on the history of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible | Oppose | This would require every school to provide an elective on certain religious texts. It is virtually impossible to implement a course like this in a way that complies with the 1st Amendment. |
HB | 2753 | Permitting stand-in candidates for gubernatorial and presidential contests | Neutral | The ACLU will monitor this voting rights bill for more information. |
HB | 2763 | Relating to unlawful discriminatory practices in categories covered by the Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act | Support | This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. The ACLU strongly supports these protections. |
HB | 2808 | Requiring local entities to enforce immigration laws | Oppose | This deprives local governments of their due role to create laws. It impedes on police and prosecutorial discretion. It makes vulnerable people who are undocumented or may have mixed status families reluctant to ask for help even when the victim of a crime. |
HB | 2814 | Making it a felony to transport certain drugs into the state with intent to deliver | Oppose | Possession with the intent to deliver is already illegal. Enhancements like this with mandatory minimums will only perpetuate mass incarceration. |
HB | 2817 | Youth Mental Health Protection Act | Support | Conversion therapy is dangerous and unnecessary. This bill would prohibit conversion therapy for minors. |
HB | 2820 | Relating to criminal penalties for reckless driving | Oppose | This creates additional penalties for reckless driving that results in death. The criminal code already covers this and mandatory minimums contribute to mass incarceration. |
HB | 2822 | Creating an enhanced penalty for certain aggravated serious traffic offenses | Oppose | This bill creates a sentence enhancement, which the ACLU opposes. |
HB | 2847 | Relating to exemptions from mandated immunizations | Oppose | This bill provides for religious waivers from mandatory vaccinations for schools, colleges, and employment including health-care workers. The ACLU supports religous freedom, however also recoggnizes a compelling government intererest in promoting public health. This legislation does not maintain an adequate balance. |
HB | 2860 | Relating to mandatory drug testing of all classes of employees in K through 12 schools | Oppose | Drug testing is an invasion of privacy and the ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. |
HB | 2883 | Expanding the definitions of locations where enhanced penalties for selling controlled substances to a minor are applicable | Oppose | This bill provides for enhanced penalties for selling drugs near swimming pools, video arcades, and youth centers. The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements. |
HB | 2888 | Allowing the Executive Director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority to establish a work program | Support | This is an imperfect bill. Prison labor is a poor substitute for alternatives to incarceration. Work programs are only eligible to people deemed not to be a public safety risk. This is a subjective and vague term that could be applied discriminatorily. However, the work program does allow for a path for earlier release. |
HB | 2892 | Including digital and virtual information in the definition of property that can be searched and seized by a warrant | Neutral | The ACLU will monitor this legislation to ensure that 4th amendment protections are upheld. |
HB | 2902 | Relating to wages of persons with disabilities | Support | This legislation directs several West Virginia agencies to promote employment of differently-abled people. Part of this effort includes fair, living wages- which has been a problem in programs for employment for people with limitations. |
HB | 2903 | Fetal Heartbeat Act | Oppose | This bill would effectively criminalize abortions at around 6 weeks of gestation - when many people are not even aware they are pregnant. It is completely in violation of Constitutional protections for abortion. |
HB | 2904 | Implementing drug testing for legislators of the State of West Virginia | Oppose | The ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. It is also likely unconstitutional to withold a legislator's pay. |
HB | 2915 | Restricting the performance of abortions and acquiring, providing, receiving, otherwise transferring, or using fetal body parts | Oppose | This bill goes far beyond the title - which is based on inflmatory falsehoods. It also prohibits abortion after a 'fetal heartbeat' is detected, around 6 weeks. |
HB | 2920 | Creating state and local law-enforcement review boards | Support | This bill would create a review board to oversee complaints against the State Police and would require local review boards within 4 years of passage. Civillian oversight of police is not a panacea for abuses, but can provide trasnparency, independent review, and an opportunity for restorative justice. |
HB | 2922 | Relating to requirements to obtain a final order of discharge and dismissal for possession of opiates or opioids | Oppose | Compulsory medical and rehabilitation treatment is ineffective and highly invasive. While this bill is permissive, it still encourages this type of order. |
HB | 2959 | Relating to unlawful panhandling and solicitation | Oppose | As the courts have repeatedly affirmed, people have a first amendment right to speak to others, including asking for money or help. |
HB | 2983 | Relating to therapeutic rights of minors | Neutral | This bill prohibits many abusive practices associated with conversion therapy. However, it could be seen as legitimizing 'talk' converstion therapy, which is still harmful. |
HB | 2985 | West Virginia Faith Freedom Act | Oppose | This is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by another name. In practical terms, it would allow people to raise religious objections to override nondiscrimination and civil protections. |
HB | 2987 | Relating to Involuntary treatment for alcohol and other drug abuse | Oppose | Compulsory medical and rehabilitation treatment is ineffective and highly invasive. Involuntary committment is an extreme measure limiting fundamental freedoms and its use should be rare if it used at all. |
HB | 2990 | Redistricting of the Senate | Neutral | The ACLU does not take a position on how the legislature is divided. However, we will monitor this legislation to ensure that division is done consistent with principles of proper representation. |
HB | 2999 | Relating to state certification of industrial hemp and medical cannabis seed | Support | This bill provides some of the recommended fixes to the medical cannabis law. It also prohibits civil asset forfeiture of industrial and medical cannabis. |
HB | 3004 | Amending the industrial hemp development act consistent with federal law | Support | In addition to reducing barriers to growing industrial hemp, this prohibits civil asset forfeiture of growers. |
HB | 3006 | Providing school day to register and transport students to vote | Support | The ACLU strongly supports efforts to increase access to the ballots. This proposal would do just that. |
HB | 3008 | Reentry Task Force | Support | This would create a task force aimed at studying issues of reentry. The ACLU supports efforts to minimize collateral consequences of system involvement that are barriers to reentry and reintegration. |
HB | 3011 | Prohibiting provisions within settlement agreements that prevent the disclosure of factual information related to a claim filed in a civil action | Neutral | Nondisclosure agreements are legally fraught, and, and the 'Me Too' movement demonstrated, serial offenders often use these agreements to continue predatory behavior. However, there are privacy concerns that need to be monitored in legislation like this. |
HB | 3026 | Establishing a tax credit for businesses who hire, promote and develop women and minorities into executive, professional or administrative roles | Support | The ACLU supports proactive steps to undo and reverse systemic racism and sexism that have led to deep and long-lasting disparities in employment. |
HB | 3038 | Increasing access to contraceptive drugs, devices, and procedures | Support | A critical component of reproductive justice is access to contraception. This bill requires insurers to cover a wide range of contraception options. |
HB | 3041 | Relating to electioneering or distributing literature at early voting locations | Support | This bill corrects a discrepency in the code about where electioneering can take place during the early voting period. In doing so it protects to speech rights of people electioneering. |
HB | 3052 | Ensuring coverage for residents with preexisting conditions | Support | The ACLU supports legislation to ensure adequate protections for people with disabilities and preexisting conditions. |
HB | 3058 | Granting full time employees of county boards of education three months of paid leave following the birth of a child | Support | The ACLU supports paid family leave. |
HB | 3063 | Relating to a home Instruction and private school tax credit | Oppose | This is an educational tax credit. The ACLU opposes these as removing funding from public education and freeing state money up for things like religious education. |
HB | 3064 | Establishing an intravenous drug user treatment and commitment process | Oppose | Compulsory medical and rehabilitation treatment is ineffective and highly invasive. Involuntary committment is an extreme measure limiting fundamental freedoms and its use should be rare if it used at all. |
HB | 3066 | Relating to extended supervision for certain drug offenders | Oppose | This bill would require a period of up to 10 years of supervised release after someone convicted of certain drug offenses has served their sentence. This would be costly to implement and almost certainly lead to re-arrest for minor infractions, making reentry even more difficult for these people. |
HB | 3077 | Permitting election day registration of voters | Support | This allows voters to register to vote on election day. This would both expand democratic participation and serve as a fail-safe for voter purges. |
HB | 3078 | Relating generally to paid family and medical leave | Support | The ACLU supports paid family medical leave. |
HB | 3114 | Eliminating the requirement that schools be closed on election days | Oppose | Closing schools on election days provides a consistent polling place, and enables students and teachers to vote throughout the day. Keeping schools open would have the opposite effect. |
HB | 3117 | Prohibiting the Legislature from negotiating with illegal strikers | Oppose | This violate the core tenents of the freedom of assembly and the right to petition the government. |
HB | 3118 | Relating to mandatory drug testing for state legislators and teachers | Oppose | Drug testing is an invasion of privacy and the ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. |
HB | 3124 | Prohibiting civil rights violations based on disability, gender identity or sexual orientation | Support | This would provide protections against hate crimes for people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. It also encourages alternative sentencing and restorative justice for people who violate this code. |
HB | 3127 | Relating to the Secondary School Activities Commission and participation by home schooled students | Oppose | This bill would require local public schools allow home-school or private-school students participate in public school academics or athletics. This requires schools to make expenditures for a student that they are not otherwise receiving money for. |
HB | 3129 | Be Exceptional Starting Today Act | Support | This bill provides for the legalization and regulation of recreational cannabis. The criminalization of cannabis has been a major contributer to mass incarceration and to racial disparities in the criminal system. |
HB | 3133 | Relating to requiring a parolee or probationer found to have suffered with addiction to participate in a support service | Oppose | This is a bill that requires compulsory rehabilitation services. Involuntary treatment is ineffective and highly invasive. While this is more narrowly tailored in that people would have to be deemed a risk for substance abuse based on a screen, that is not always an accurate predictor. This requirement will likely lead to an increased probability that parloe is revoked on a technical violation. |
HB | 3134 | Establishing criminal penalties for negligent homicide, and increasing criminal penalties for reckless driving | Oppose | This creates additional penalties for reckless driving that results in death. The criminal code already covers this and mandatory minimums contribute to mass incarceration. |
HB | 3136 | Relating to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | Oppose | This bill would create Medicaid work requirements. Medicaid is vital for many people to access necessary health services, work requirements fail to take into account all the reasons people may not be able to hold down a job. One's health should not be dependentant on an arbitrary judgment about whether they can or should be working. |
HB | 4002 | Creating a felony crime relating to drug delivery resulting in death | Oppose | This creates new enhancements for activites that are already illegal. This will only further perpetuate mass incarceration. |
HB | 4004 | Creating the West Virginia Sentencing Commission | Support | Generally, the ACLU wants to see reform in our sentencing laws, and the sentencing commission is a way to acheive that goal. However, negative experiences with the federal sentencing commission as well as sentencing commissions in other states means we will be monitoring this closely. An amendment in House Judiciary adding a study of second-look sentencing strengthens the bil. |
HB | 4006 | Civil Liability for Employers Hiring Ex-Offenders Act | Neutral | This protects employers from lawsuits if they hire an ex-offender. This should reduce tensions about hiring people who have been impacted by the criminal system and ease reentry. However, there are concerns that it could result in more employers requesting criminal history. The ACLU will monitor developments. |
HB | 4007 | Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act | Oppose | Despite divisive rhetoric, this bill does not substantively change any laws. However, it does further stigmatize abortion, and add dangerous rhetoric about abortion. |
HB | 4008 | Relating to the authorization to release a defendant or a person arrested upon his or her own recognizance | Support | This bill provides another version of bail reform. It creates a presumption that a person will be released without having to post bail for certain non-violent classes of crimes. The ACLU believes that this is not best practices for reforming the bail system, but supports the concept of reducing the pretrial population. |
HB | 4009 | Relating to the process for involuntary hospitalization | Oppose | The purpose of this bill is to provide for involuntary hospitalization without due process if a magistrate or mental hygiene commissioner cannot be reached. Holding someone against their will is an extreme measure, and it is incumbent that the state provide resources to ensure due process is protected rather than worked around. |
HB | 4011 | Reorganizing various boards and authorities for the licensing and oversight of trades, occupations, and professions | Oppose | This bill changes how licensing boards work. The language allows licensing boards to deny an occupational license for a felony conviction and does not require any rational basis between the conviction and the job. The bill also has a non-discrimination provision, but does not include sexual orientation or gender identity, leading to the possibility that a person could be denied an occupation based on who they love or how they identify. |
HB | 4013 | Establishing an intravenous drug user treatment and commitment process | Oppose | Compulsory medical and rehabilitation treatment is ineffective and highly invasive. Involuntary committment is an extreme measure limiting fundamental freedoms and its use should be rare if it used at all. |
HB | 4017 | Establishing country roads accountability and transparency | Support | The ACLU supports efforts to make government more transparent and accountable. |
HB | 4018 | Requiring able-bodied adults receiving Medicaid benefits to be participating with the requirements of a work, education, or volunteer program | Oppose | This bill would create Medicaid work requirements. Medicaid is vital for many people to access necessary health services, work requirements fail to take into account all the reasons people may not be able to hold down a job. One's health should not be dependentant on an arbitrary judgment about whether they can or should be working. |
HB | 4025 | Creating a State Central Legal Advertising Website | Support | This would create a state-run website where legal notices could be posted. Notice is a critical element of due process, and with the decline of print media, an alternative is necessary. |
HB | 4029 | Creating a Class VI hunting permit to safely accommodate visually impaired hunters | Support | This bill creates a liscence and safe procedures for someone with a visual impairment to be able to hunt. The ACLU supports expansion of rights for people with different abilities. |
HB | 4034 | Prohibiting outdoor concerts later than 11:00 p.m. if the amphitheater is located within 500 feet of a residential dwelling | Oppose | This constitutes a prior restraint on speech. The legislation is vague and over broad. For example even if the only residence near the ampitheater was owned by the people putting on the concert, they would still be barred, and potentially subject to prosecution. |
HB | 4037 | Fetal Heartbeat Act | Oppose | This bill would effectively criminalize abortions at around 6 weeks of gestation - when many people are not even aware they are pregnant. It is completely in violation of Constitutional protections for abortion. |
HB | 4044 | Prohibiting payroll deductions to electioneering organizations | Oppose | People have freedom to contract and to associate. By prohibitting payroll deductions, both rights are infringed upon. |
HB | 4045 | Relating to provisions of the 'Habitual Offender' statute | Oppose | This bill clarifies the process for repeat criminal offenders. While the legislation does exclude some very specific minor offenses from consideration, it ultimately encourages the use of sentence enhancements, which the ACLU opposes. |
HB | 4053 | Granting tax credits for parents and legal guardians whose children are in a home schooling program or private school | Oppose | This is an 'educational tax credit' by another name. These schemes lead to public funds being used for religious education. |
HB | 4056 | Requiring all local and state special elections to be held on the days and hours of general or primary or state elections | Support | By requiring all elections to take place on similar dates, it makes it easier for people to keep track of upcoming elections and participate. |
HB | 4059 | Increasing access to long acting reversible contraception | Support | Access to contraception is a critical element in reproductive rights. |
HB | 4061 | Health Benefit Plan Network Access and Adequacy Act | Neutral | The ACLU will monitor legislation affecting health insurance to ensure that it provides adequate protections for people with disabilities and preexisting conditions. |
HB | 4069 | West Virginia Student Religious Liberties Act | Oppose | This bill purports to extend a number of religious freedoms to students. However, students already enjoy significant freedom to practice and express their religion in a school setting. Instead, this bill interferes with appropriate academic instruction by raising the specter that students could raise a religious freedom claim if they submitted incorrect coursework that they claimed reflected a religious belief. Furthermore, the language allows for student-led prayer at regular occurrences like daily announcements, rallies and sporting events. In these platforms the school has effectively sanctioned prayer during an official event. |
HB | 4073 | Relating to disclosure of fundraising contributions during a legislative session | Support | This bill does not change what must be disclosed, only the time frame in which it must be disclosed. This will help keep voters educated. |
HB | 4092 | Relating to foster care | Support | This bill would help match youth with foster families, and provides certain rights for foster youth. The ACLU supports these efforts to minimize the trauma of the foster system. |
HB | 4093 | Eliminating the prohibition against carrying firearms on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex | Oppose | While the West Virginia Constitution does provide an individual right to carry a firearm, the presence of firearms can stifle necessary debate on controversial topics. |
HB | 4094 | Continuing the Foster Care Ombudsman | Support | This bill expands the Foster Care Ombudsman. This position provides oversight and accountability to government agencies. |
HB | 4096 | Requiring candidates to live in the state or local election district for the office for which they are seeking | Support | This bill ensures appropriate representation. |
HB | 4102 | Relating to opioid antagonists | Support | This bill permits a number of people and agencies to be eligible to recieve medication that can reverse an overdose. |
HB | 4106 | Biometric Information Privacy Act | Support | This bill expands privacy protections to catch up with current technologies. |
HB | 4109 | Relating to the choice of law used for contractual interpretations when deciding the comity of a legal decision in a foreign country | Oppose | This bill hides under complex language and appeals to constitutional values. However, the bill would interfere with a number of religious practices, and other contractually relationships. |
HB | 4112 | Requiring county school boards to provide adequate mental health evaluations, and counseling services | Support | The ACLU supports the expansion of mental services for youth with health needs and as a way to reach at-risk youth without the juvenile justice system. |
HB | 4118 | Creating a state-wide email address directory | Oppose | This bill aims to let the government gather and collect e-mail addresses to contact citizens. It creats a tax incentiv for people to give up some privacy. Maintenance of the list also rises privacy concerns. |
HB | 4119 | Establishing the crime of torture | Oppose | The current criminal code already has provisions that address the acts described in thisbill. It is far more likely this language would be used to impose disporportionate sentences on someone. |
HB | 4125 | Creating a felony penalty of life without mercy for the first degree murder of a law-enforcement officer | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements. |
HB | 4140 | Granting tax credits for parents and legal guardians whose children are in a home schooling program or private school | Oppose | Education tax credits can use public funds for religious education. The ACLU opposes these schemes. |
HB | 4148 | Authorizing the suspension or dismissal of school personnel who retaliate against a student or parent who has made a complaint | Support | This bill effectively creates whistleblower protections for students and parents who make complaints against school officials. The ACLU supports whistleblower protections. |
HB | 4150 | Preventing taxpayer subsidization of health insurance covering elective abortions | Oppose | This bill would create major financial disincentives for private insurance companies that offer abortion care coverage. This creates financial barriers to accessing abortion. |
HB | 4151 | Relating to standard of review in First Amendment violations | Oppose | This is an iteration of bills like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which is often used to circumvent equal protection requirements. |
HB | 4153 | Forbidding displays relating to sexuality in public school facilities and forbidding the teaching of sexuality in public schools | Oppose | This bill is a prior restraint on speech. It also is discriminatory against LGBTQ students. |
HB | 4155 | Relating generally to the regulation of plumbers | Oppose | This bill started modifying licensure requirements for plumbers. It was amended to include suspicion-less drug testing and the use of e-verify, both of which, the ACLU opposes. |
HB | 4160 | Youth Mental Health Protection Act | Support | This bill bans the practice of conversion therapy, which has been shown to be ineffective and harmful. |
HB | 4166 | Prohibiting certain sex offenders from being in a supervisory position over children | Oppose | Sex offender registries are invasive and do not work. Individual assessments of people should be used to determine what, if any, risk they pose. |
HB | 4167 | Allowing victims of certain crimes to get a restraining order prohibiting convicted persons from contacting or living in proximity to the victim | Oppose | Restricting where a person is allowed to live, and with whom they can associate is an extreme limitation. This should be used in limited circumstances and on a case-by-case basis. |
HB | 4173 | Directing the Supreme Court of Appeals to create a pilot domestic violence court in Kanawha County | Support | This bill modifies an existing law on a domestic violence pilot program to limit that program to Kanawha County and compell reporting. The ACLU supports for transparency and the potential for alternative sentencing. |
HB | 4175 | Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act | Oppose | Despite divisive rhetoric, this bill does not substantively change any laws. However, it does further stigmatize abortion, and add dangerous rhetoric about abortion. |
HB | 4176 | West Virginia Intelligence/Fusion Center Act | Oppose | This would create a West Virginia fusion center expanding police and surveilence powers. |
HB | 4183 | Relating to mandatory drug testing of all classes of employees in K through 12 schools | Oppose | The ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. |
HB | 4184 | Relating to criminal trespass | Support | This bill would exempt First Amendment protected activity from charges under the crime of tresspass. |
HB | 4186 | Removing marijuana as a tested substance from the screening requirements | Support | This bill would remove cannabis from the WV Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace Act. This would prevent the state from forcing employers to fire people for cannabis use. |
HB | 4187 | Relating to licensure qualifications | Support | This bill eases reentry by clarifying that an electrician occupational license cannot by denied on the basis of a felony conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the conviction. |
HB | 4189 | Relating generally to the payment of salary or wages under the Parental Leave Act | Support | Ensuring support for families is important both for addressing sex-based disparities, but also for disability rights. |
HB | 4195 | Normalization of Cannabis Act | Support | This bill would legalize cannabis growing, processing, and distribution for personal use. The ACLU supports ending cannabis criminalization. |
HB | 4197 | Model Veterans Treatment Court Act | Support | Specialty courts have a mixed record of providing alternatives to incarceration. However, they can be overused and can still impose burdensome conditions. The ACLU supports this legislation, but will work to provide safeguuards. |
HB | 4198 | Permitting a person to obtain a 12-month supply of contraceptive drugs | Support | The ACLU supports expanding ease of access to contraception. |
HB | 4200 | Prohibiting discrimination based on age or sexual orientation | Support | The ACLU supports equal protections for LGBTQ people. |
HB | 4201 | Relating to unlawful discriminatory practices in categories covered by the Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act | Support | This bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. The ACLU strongly supports these protections. |
HB | 4227 | Department of Health and Human Resources, pilot program for drug screening of applicants for cash assistance | Neutral | The legislature previously passed a law implementing a 3 year pilot program to drug test recipients of TANF. The ACLU opposed, and continues to oppose this. This rule changes the sunset date by 1 year to reflect a delay in implemenation of the pilot. |
HB | 4245 | Board of Occupational Therapy, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4256 | Board of Acupuncture, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinationa | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4266 | Board of Chiropractic Examiners, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4284 | Department of Health and Human Resources, medical cannabis program--general provisions | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
HB | 4285 | Department of Health and Human Resources, medical cannabis program--growers/processors | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
HB | 4286 | Department of Health and Human Resources, medical cannabis program-laboratories | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
HB | 4287 | Department of Health and Human Resources, medical cannabis program-dispensaries | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
HB | 4288 | Department of Health and Human Resources, medical cannabis program-safe harbor letter | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
HB | 4294 | Board of Hearing Aid Dealers, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4298 | Board of Landscape Architects, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4300 | Massage Therapy Licensure Board, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4329 | Board of Psychologists, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations and application for fee waiver | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4334 | Real Estate Commission, consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial license eligibility determination | Supoort | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
HB | 4351 | Requiring the random drug testing of legislators | Oppose | Thel ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. |
HB | 4352 | Removing the use of post-criminal conduct in professional and occupational initial licensure or certification in decision making | Support | This bill would prohibit using a prior criminal conviction to deny certain occupational licenses unless there was a rational nexus to the criminal activity and the occupation. The ACLU supports this as making reentry easier. |
HB | 4353 | Creating a rational nexus requirement between prior criminal conduct and initial licensure decision making | Support | This bill would prohibit using a prior criminal conviction to deny certain occupational licenses unless there was a rational nexus to the criminal activity and the occupation. The ACLU supports this as making reentry easier. |
HB | 4357 | Relating to governmental websites | Support | This bill would require administrative agencies and county and municipal governments to have websites with contact information and information about operations. This allows for more government transparency, makes it easier for people to contact the government, and will ease information about goverment operations. |
HB | 4364 | Creating a tax credit for hiring an ex-felon | Support | This bill incentives employment for reentry. The ACLU supports these efforts. |
HB | 4365 | Granting of college credit hours for learning English as a second language | Support | This bill would allow ESL courses to count for college credit. This would allow immigrants to work towards acheiving a degree while learning a new language. |
HB | 4368 | Relating to the Medical Cannabis Act | Support | This bill would expand the conditions for which medical cannabis can be persrcibed and would allow for cannabis edibles. |
HB | 4384 | West Virginia Monument and Memorial Protection Act of 2020 | Oppose | This bill would prohibit the removal, destruction, renaming, or relocation of memorials or monuments. While the law is written broadly, it is done in the context of a wave of removing memorials to the Confederacy. The understood intent is to protect those monuments. |
HB | 4385 | Family and Medical Leave Insurance Benefits Act | Support | This would help support families, expand help for people with additional needs, and help reduce gender disparities in employment and pay. |
HB | 4392 | Increasing the penalties for exposure of governmental representatives to fentanyl or any other harmful drug | Oppose | This bill would make a person criminally liable if a government agent is exposed to a drug. This is effectively a sentence enhancement, which the ACLU opposes. |
HB | 4398 | Relating to required courses of instruction | Support | This bill would require teaching about the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and other foundational documents. The ACLU supports education people on basic rights and where they came from. |
HB | 4399 | Prohibiting civil rights violations based on gender identity or sexual orientation | Support | The ACLU strongly supports protections for people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. |
HB | 4402 | Relating to designation of early voting locations | Oppose | This bill would remove some of the notice requirements for an early voting location on subsequent elections. To best ensure full participation, every effort should be made to notify voters about when and where they can vote. |
HB | 4416 | Relating to expanding certain insurance coverages for pregnant women | Support | This bill would expand Medicaid coverage for pregnant people to one year post partum. |
HB | 4428 | Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan Fair Pay Act of 2020 | Support | This bill ensures that employers cannot prohibit empolyees from discussing salaries and benefits, and prevents employers from inquiring about salary history. This is a good way to rectify gender and racial pay disparities. |
HB | 4430 | Creating the misdemeanor offense of falsely filing a complaint against a law-enforcement office | Oppose | This bill would create a misdemeanor offence if someone lies in a complaint about police conduct. Reviews of police behavior are often done within the agency or by other law enforcement agencies. This is already a conflict of interest, and the risk of criminal penalties would have a large chilling effect on making valid complaints against police. |
HB | 4432 | Removing the one-time limit on the expungement of certain criminal convictions | Support | This bill would remove some limits on the number of times a record can be expunged. This would help with reentry. |
HB | 4440 | Prohibiting the home schooling of children in certain circumstances | Oppose | This bill would prohibit someone for being approved for homeschooling if they have an open case of child abuse or neglect, or if there are certain prior convictions. This means people would be denied the ability to homsschool even when they have not been found guilty of a crime. The ACLU supports individualized assessments. |
HB | 4441 | Providing that political party caucus meetings are not exempt from open proceedings requirements | Neutral | This bill would require that party caucus meetings are required to be open to the public. Political parties are not public entities, and there are concerns about treating political parties as governmental bodies. However, political parties also serve an important role. |
HB | 4442 | Requiring certain municipalities to pay for the incarceration of inmates | Neutral | This bill may disincentize frivolous arrests by municipal police. However, it may result in cost-sharing mass incarceration and ultimately reducing the will to address the underlying problem. |
HB | 4469 | Increasing the minimum criminal penalty for a driver who, in an impaired state, causes the death of a minor | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements. |
HB | 4470 | Relating to persons 18 years of age or older in the custody of the Bureau of Juvenile Services | Support | The ACLU opposed a prior change that required people in juvenile custody to be transferred to adult facilities. This bill clarifies that those young adults have to be kept out of sight and sound of adult inmates. |
HB | 4471 | West Virginia Native American Tribes Unique Recognition, Authentication and Listing Act | Neutral | The ACLU strongy supports the recognition, rights, and reparations to the First Nations. However, this particular bill has raised concerns. The ACLU will monitor and develop a more informed position. |
HB | 4475 | Requiring the State Board of Education to provide for the routine education of all professional educators | Support | This bill would required training on suicide awareness and prevention for teachers. This is more mental health in the schools, which the ACLU supports. |
HB | 4476 | Providing for the timely and efficient collection, submission, testing, retention, and disposition of forensic evidence in sexual assault cases | Support | This legislation benefits victims and survivors of sexual assaults by ensuring that there are proper procedures to collect and maintain evidence against their assailants. It also helps criminal defendants by ensuring proper maintenance of evidence that may be exculpatory or that they may want to review. |
HB | 4482 | Repealing the section of code relating to unlawful military organizations | Support | The ACLU supports the right to associate. |
HB | 4485 | Reorganizing and redesignating the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety as the Department of Homeland Security | Neutral | This is one of several proposals to reorganize DMAPS. This proposal specifically discusses a fusion center, which, while not defined in this bill, the ACLU opposes. We will monitor to see if this bill results in the creation of a fusion center. |
HB | 4481 | Requiring the State Board of Education to provide for the routine education of all professional educators | Support | This bill provides suicide prevention awareness education for WV teachers. This is one part of a necessary broader push to getting mental health in the schools. |
HB | 4498 | Relating to a Woman's Right to Know | Oppose | This bill would require an utlrasound be performed and shown to a woman prior to an abortion. This is a unnecessary barrier to abortion care. |
HB | 4501 | Relating to the ability to refuse offenders for commitment to a jail | Oppose | This bill creates indemnity for correctional staff when an inmate refuses medical treatment. If the state is going to take custody of people, they bear the burden of keeping them safe and healthy without compelling medical care. |
HB | 4508 | Making it illegal to discriminate based on hair texture or hair style | Support | This bill would make it illegal to discriminate based on hair style. |
HB | 4509 | Transferring the Parole Board to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for purposes of administrative and other support | Neutral | This bill would put the Parole Board under the supervision and control of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Parole reforms are desperately needed in WV. However, it is unclear that this legislation will provide the necessary changes. |
HB | 4512 | Creating a work permit driver's license program | Support | This bill provides a program to ensure that people who are subject to license suspensions or revocations for non-driving related offenses are still able to get to work. This is an imperfect remedy to one of the many ways poverty is criminalized. |
HB | 4532 | Expanding felony hate crime protections to individuals on the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation | Neutral | This bill expands the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. The ACLU supports protections for LGBTQ people, however opposes enhancement. Other iterations of this legislation balance this by encouraging restorative justice practices. The ACLU will monitor this legislation without taking a position. |
HB | 4533 | Strengthening the criminal penalty for assault on governmental representatives | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements. |
HB | 4534 | Relating to rulemaking for healthcare plans | Support | This bill allows the dependents of graduate students and graduate students with preexisting conditions to be covered by univesity healthcare plans. This is good for supporting parents and people with different abilities. |
HB | 4536 | Prohibiting certain sex offenders from being in a supervisory position over children | Oppose | Sex offender registries are invasive and do not work. Individual assessments of people should be used to determine what, if any, risk they pose. |
HB | 4539 | Relating to the cultivation of medical cannabis | Support | This bill would allow medical cannabis patients to grow up to 10 of their own plants for personal use and to consume cannabis by smoking it. |
HB | 4540 | Authorizing the appointment, qualifications, certification, authority, compensation, and training of hospital police officers | Oppose | To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. People come to hospitals in various forms of physical, emotional and mental distress. Law enforcement are signigicantly more likely to use force, and to file criminal charges for people who need help. Law enforement at hosptials may also discouage people who genuinely need medical care from seeking it, if they have legal issues. |
HB | 4541 | Relating to an occupational limited license | Support | This bill would create a special class of drivers license. People would be able to get to and from work, places of study, and medical appointments. This would be a way to allow people whose license is suspended as a result of unpaid fines or fees to maintain a livelihood. This is a more restrictive and problematic approach to solving the very real issue of license suspension. The ACLU supports this effort but believes there are better approaches. |
HB | 4544 | Relating to possession of any controlled substance on the premises of or within 200 feet of a public library | Oppose | This bill would add additional pentalities for possession of a controlled substance near a library. The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements. |
HB | 4548 | Eliminating the ability of a person's driver's license to be suspended for the failure to pay court fines and costs | Support | This bill would end the practice of suspending a driver's license for failure to pay fines and fees. This is a practice that punishes the poor and leaves people less able to pay. |
HB | 4553 | Requiring certain health insurance providers to provide fertility services coverage | Support | Fertility care is medical care and part of reproductive rights. The ACLU supports steps to ensure full medical coverage. |
HB | 4556 | Authorizing the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to approve home plans for inmates | Support | This bill would require the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop home plans for certain inmates,and to develop a parole plan for nonviolent inmates. |
HB | 4563 | Creating a law-enforcement transparency board | Support | This bill would create a board to review and report on incidents of police misconduct. The ACLU supports this trransparency and acoountability. |
HB | 4564 | Relating to participation in school sports | Oppose | This bill would force student athletes to particpate in sports based on their birth sex. Trans and intersex athletes neither enjoy any competetive advantage, nor should they be stigmitized. |
HB | 4567 | Relating to the use of medical cannabis | Support | This bill would ammend the medical cannabis law. It would allow dry leaf, flower, and cannabis to be consumed by smoking. |
HB | 4568 | Requiring the State Board of Education to provide for the routine education of all professional educators | Support | This bill would required training on suicide awareness and prevention for teachers. This is more mental health in the schools, which the ACLU supports. |
HB | 4570 | The Motion Picture Open Captioning Act | Support | This bill would require larger cinemas to make occassional showings of movies with captions. This is a good way to encourage accomodation of people with certain limitations. |
HB | 4571 | Establishing a special plate with a medical condition diagnosis | Oppose | This bill is aimed at protecting drivers and passengers with special needs from police. Forcing people to broadcast their medical condions is a poor replacement for appropiate law encorcement training. |
HB | 4578 | Construction Industry Employee Verification Act | Oppose | This bill would require particpation in the E-Verify program for construction workers. E-Verify is highly problematic. Errors in the system can hurt regular workers. There are significant due process concerns. The system creates to privacy and security liabilities. |
HB | 4588 | Requiring access to coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions | Support | This bill would require insurance plans to cover pre-existing conditions. This is important for ensuring people with long-term medical needs maintain coverage. |
HB | 4597 | Creating a Campus Mentors pilot program | Support | This bill would create a mentor program for at-risk high school students to connect them with college students. This is another way to address struggling students without relying on the disciplinary or legal systems. |
HB | 4602 | Increasing the penalty for DUI causing death when a child is present | Oppose | This is a sentence enhancement bill that doubles the sentence for negligent homicide as a result of DUI if a child is present. The ACLU opposes mandatory sentence enhancements. |
HB | 4605 | Transferring state facilities to comprehensive regional mental health centers | Neutral | This bill would allow state run hospitals for people with mental and intellectual disabilities to be transferred to non-profit organizations. The ACLU will monitor this legislation to ensure there is appropriate care and protection for these individuals. |
HB | 4608 | Relating to the duties of the law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee | Support | This bill changes some of the training requirements for law enforcement officers. Notably, it doubles the amount of classroom hours and removes a provision that allowed hours to be met at outside of authroized training academies. Proper police training is one way to limit police misconduct. |
HB | 4609 | Limiting minors' access to gender reassignment surgery or hormone replacement therapy | Oppose | This bill would prohibit gender affirming therapies for minors. This is not only discriminatory, as minors can access other medical therapies, but research has made it clear that minors who have access to gender affirming therapies have better mental health outcomes. |
HB | 4615 | West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act | Oppose | This bill would deem many areas to be "critical infastructure" and would impose criminal penalties for tresspassing. Notably, this could be used to limit protest activities. |
HB | 4622 | Prohibiting the establishment of a constitution or legal system superior or parallel to the West Virginia Constitution and the West Virginia Code | Neutral | The rules of Constitutional and legal supremecy are well established. It is unclear what this legislation is attempting to addess, but the ACLU will monitor this. |
HB | 4623 | Requiring all schools to instruct students on the Holocaust and other genocides | Support | This bill would require students in middle school or highschool to be provided with a curriculum about the Holocaust and other genocides. The ACLU supports ensuring education covers these important topics. |
HB | 4624 | Permitting public employees the right to collectively bargain | Supoort | This bill would allow public employees to engage in collective bargaining. The ACLU has long championed the rights of workers to organize unions and bargain collectively. |
HB | 4625 | Relating to the normalization of cannabis laws | Support | This bill would legalize and regulate cannabis for personal adult use. The ACLU supports the legalization of cannabis. |
HB | 4629 | Exempting certain hygiene products from sales tax | Support | This bill would end the tax of menstrual products. The ACLU supports ending this tax. |
HB | 4635 | Vulnerable Child Protection Act | Oppose | This bill would make it a crime to perform certain gender-affirming therapies on minors. |
HB | 4649 | Relating to implementation of trauma-informed practices in schools | Support | This bill would require schools adopt trauma informed policies. These types of policies can reduce reliance on discipline and the legal system. This bill also includes incorporation of non-discrimination practices that include sexual orientation and gender identitity. |
HB | 4658 | Relating to complaints against public agencies to obtain records through the Freedom of Information Act | Support | This bill would allow the Ethics Commission to investigate willful violations of the Freedom of Information Act. It would allow the Ethics Commission to investigate these violations and administer sanctions. |
HB | 4660 | Requiring state agencies to maintain updated records of all financial transactions in a searchable website | Support | This is a one-sentence bill that does exactly what it claims to do. The ACLU supports this as a matter of government transparency. |
HB | 4662 | Providing a process by which a city may hold an election to recall an ordinance | Neutral | This bill would require municipalities to hold special elections to consider ordinances if 15% of the population signed a petition. Generally, the ACLU supports more direct democracy. However, in practice, since elections are expensive, this could prevent city councils from passing ordinances. |
HB | 4668 | Creating the misdemeanor crime of trespass for entering a structure that has been condemned | Oppose | This bill would allow a person who refuses to leave a condemned structure to be penalized with a fine of up to $1,000 or jailed as up to a year. This is another bill creating new penalties and likely applies mostly to indigent people. |
HB | 4670 | Relating to the juvenile restorative justice programs | Support | This bill would allow juveniles charged with status offenses and certain non-violent misdemeanors to get deferred to a voluntary restorative justice program. |
HB | 4674 | Act to Counter Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions of Israel | Oppose | Anti-BDS bills use the power of the government to punish organizations that engage in lawful protest activity. |
HB | 4683 | Better Safe than Sorry Act of 2020 | Oppose | This is a "red flag" law, which forces someone to relinquish rights to bear arms without due process. |
HB | 4684 | Providing changing stations for persons with disabilities in all rest areas | Support | The ACLU supports increasing accessability. |
HB | 4704 | Repealing statutory provisions that provide immunity from criminal prosecution or liability | Neutral | This bill would eliminate all civil and criminal immunity for government agents. Immunity is sometimes a bar to justice, but the ACLU will monitor this legislation to better understand the practical impacts. |
HB | 4708 | Expanding the definition of political party for the purposes of election law | Support | This bill allows certification of a politial party if they have a membership equal to 1% of the total vote for governor. This expands groups wo may be given the rights and priveleges of a political party. |
HB | 4710 | Authorizing law-enforcement agencies to create a referral program for voluntary treatment of addiction | Support | This bill presents a very good way to address addiction. It provides criminal immunity for people. It allows for voluntary treatment, as opposed to coercing treatment. |
HB | 4711 | Developing a program for individuals suffering from a substance abuse disorder who voluntarily seek treatment for that abuse | Support | This bill authorizes the state police to develop a voluntary program for substance abuse treatment. The program would provide qualified immunity for some people who ark for treatment. |
HB | 4715 | Authorizing municipalities to take action to grant certain fire department employees limited power of arrest | Oppose | This bill allows fire marshalls and other fire department employees to make arrests related to arson. Although this is limited, and related to their scope of work, arrest powers greatly implicate civil liberties, and should only be given to people who have specific training. |
HB | 4716 | Ban-the-Box Act | Support | This bill applies to applicants for public employee positions. It prohibits inquiring about criminal history until after an interview has been conducted. This is a limited application, but a positive step in easing reentry. |
HB | 4717 | Seizure and Forfeiture Reporting Act | Support | This bill would requite law enforcement agencies to report to the state auditor a variety of significant information relating to seizures and forfeitures, and to have the state auditor report to the legislature. This will allow people to have a much greater understanding how seizure and forfeiture is being applied. The amended version is a compromise, which provides some transparency, but not the full amount in the introduced version. |
HB | 4721 | Relating generally to forfeiture of contraband | Support | This bill would prohibit asset forfeiture without a criminal conviction, would tie the forfeiture proceedings to a criminal proceeding, and prohibit forfeiture of property belonging to innocent parties. This would end the practice of civil asset forfeiture which the ACLU opposes |
HB | 4726 | West Virginia Public Participation Protection Act | Support | This legislation is aimed at providing an expedited way to dismiss abusive lawsuits known as "strategic lawsuit against public participation". These are often used to silence protestors and media. |
HB | 4731 | Establishing the Minority Health Advisory Team | Support | This legislation focuses on studying social and economic factors affecting minority comunities and developing projects to assist those communities based on findings. |
HB | 4740 | Designating social workers in the DHHR to help improve or maintain school attendance and performance, health and well-being | Support | This bill would place social workers in schools to help with attendance issues. This is preferable to reliance on the legal system, and will likely yield better outcomes as well. |
HB | 4742 | Establishing a vote by mail program | Support | This bill would allow counties to opt into a vote-by-mail program, which would replace voting at polling locations. Vote-by-mail systems have worked in other states and can increase voter participation and eliminate some barriers to voting. |
HB | 4743 | Creating a Small Business and Minority Populations Economic and Workforce Development Taskforce | Support | This bill would create a task force to study minority work participation and small business ownership. The ACLU supports taking proactive measures to undo the legacy of systemic racism. |
HB | 4752 | Initiating a State Employment First Policy to facilitate integrated employment of disabled persons | Support | This bill would create a policy to encourage hiring and accomodations for differently-abled people. It's important that the task force would focus on paying a living wage. |
HB | 4762 | Requiring publication of continually updated records of state financial transactions in a publicly accessible, searchable website | Support | This bill would require all financial transactions of the state to be published on a searchable database. This would increase government trasnparency. |
HB | 4763 | Establishing special memorial day to be known as Juneteenth honoring human rights and the end of slavery in the United States | Support | The ACLU supports recognizing Juneteenth. |
HB | 4765 | Reducing the criminal penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana or paraphernalia | Support | This bill reduces penalties for misdemeanor cannabis possession. This is a modest proposal towards decriminalization and legalization. |
HB | 4770 | Changing the beginning time for beer and wine sales on Sunday from one p.m. to 10 a.m. | Support | The prohibition of alcohol sales on Sundays is a "blue law". The ACLU supports the repeal of blue laws. |
HB | 4773 | Creating a workgroup to investigate and recommend screening protocols for adverse childhood trauma in this state | Support | Research has linked ACE's to the liklihood of involvement in the juvenile and criminal legal system. Studies to help at-risk people will hopefully provide people with tools to avoid these effects. |
HB | 4774 | Providing that the Division of Motor Vehicles identification cards be issued at no cost | Support | ID's a required to access a lot of services. Free ID's ensure that people are not denied vital services for lack of money. |
HB | 4780 | Permitting a school-based decision-making council to offer elective courses of instruction on the Bible | Oppose | Schools cannot promote or endorse any religious view, belief, or text over any other. Merely offering the course as described in this bill barely passes Constitutional muster, in practice it is virtually impossible to avoid improper entanglement of state and religion. |
HB | 4782 | Public Participation Protection Act | Support | This legislation is aimed at providing an expedited way to dismiss abusive lawsuits known as "strategic lawsuit against public participation". These are often used to silence protestors and media. |
HB | 4785 | Providing school days to register and transport students to vote | Support | This bill would assist students with registring to vote, and provide a day during the early voting period to allow students to vote. The ACLU supports efforts to enable and accomodate voting. |
HB | 4796 | Requiring the Public Employees Agency and other health insurance providers to provide mental health parity | Support | West Virginia has a serious need in proving greater access to mental health services. These services are both a preventive and alternative to the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. We support measures to increase access to these services. |
HB | 4802 | Eliminating the ability of a person's driver's license to be suspended for the failure to pay court fines | Support | This bill repeals the code that allows licenses to be suspended for unpaid fines. Suspending licenses for unpaid fines and fees limits a person's ability to work and actually makes it less likely that they will pay these fees. |
HB | 4807 | Relating to arrests of addicted or mentally ill persons that are a danger to themselves or others | Oppose | Allowing the arrest of people who appear to be under the influcence of a substance, will worsen mass incarceration and resullt in unnecessary arrest and harassment of people with disabilities. |
HB | 4817 | West Virginia Monument and Memorial Protection Act of 2020 | Oppose | This bill would prohibit the removal, destruction, renaming, or relocation of memorials or monuments. While the law is written broadly, it is done in the context of a wave of removing memorials to the Confederacy. The understood intent is to protect those monuments. |
HB | 4818 | Making it a criminal offense to escape or attempt to escape from the custody of a Community Corrections program | Oppose | This bill would incarcerate people who tried to escape from a Community Corrections program. Scaled sanctions are a more appropriate response. |
HB | 4825 | Requiring students to compete only against students of the same biological gender | Oppose | This is a bill that discriminates and punishes transgender student athletes. |
HB | 4831 | Establishing a comprehensive addiction recovery center certification and grant program in this state | Neutral | Currently addiction recovery centers operate with little oversight. Most provide valuable services. Some do take advantage of the system and the clients. The ACLU will monitor this legislation to see that it ensures quality care for people with addiction while not limiting services. |
HB | 4837 | Eliminating the ability of a person's driver's license to be suspended for the failure to pay court fines and costs | Support | This bill would remove the ability to suspend a person's license for failure to pay fines or fees, and would instead allow a judgement lien. |
HB | 4839 | Requiring the Board of Canvassers to reasonably ascertain whether a provisional or challenged ballot must be counted | Support | This bill would require reasonable efforts be made to identify errors that cause a person to vote provisionally, and would increase the liklihood that provisional ballots will be counted. This ensures people basic voting rights. |
HB | 4840 | Dividing pretrial detention jail costs between arresting authorities | Neutral | This bill would reduce the cost burden of pretrial detention from the counties to arresting agencies. This may disincentive unnecessary arrest, or law enforcement influencing a decision to detain someone pretrial, but it does not contain other necessary pretrial reforms. |
HB | 4850 | Creating a process by which voters may recall a county ordinance in a special election | Neutral | This bill would require counties to hold special elections to consider ordinances if 15% of the population signed a petition. Generally, the ACLU supports more direct democracy. However, in practice, since elections are expensive, this could prevent county governments from passing laws that have majority support. |
HB | 4851 | Screening for adverse childhood experiences | Support | This bill would mandate that insurance covers screening for adverse childhoold experiences. These truamas can impact a person's liklihood of invovlement with the criminal legal system, and early identification and intervetion can help prevent the worst outcomes. |
HB | 4852 | Relating to the penalties for the manufacture, delivery, possession, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver methamphetamine | Oppose | This bill would double the minimum and maximum sentences for methamphetamine crimes. The ACLU opposes harsher penalties. Singling out specific drugs has a troubling history of creating racial and social disparities in the criminal system too. |
HB | 4858 | Classifying "marihuana" and tetrahydrocannabinols as a Schedule IV controlled substance | Support | This bill would reclassify cannabis to a schedule IV drug, carrying less severe penalties. It serves as a partial decriminalization. |
HB | 4866 | Relating to conspiracy to commit violations of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act | Oppose | This bill would dramatically increase drug penalties for certain drugs. This is an escalation of the war on drugs, which has already been proven to have failed to prevent addiction while dramatically increasing police powers and incarceration. |
HB | 4872 | Modifying the criminal penalties imposed on a parent, guardian or custodian for child abuse | Oppose | This bill would significantly increase penalties for child abuse. While it is important that the state take proactive steps to protect children from abuse, increased penalties will not acheive that goal and will only further issues with mass incarceration. |
HB | 4883 | Relating to criminal procedure | Oppose | This bill would create a felony if a person subject to a search fails to notify a responder that they have a needle and that person is stuck. |
HB | 4885 | Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan Fair Pay Act | Support | This bill ensures that employers cannot prohibit empolyees from discussing salaries and benefits, and prevents employers from inquiring about salary history. This is a good way to rectify gender and racial pay disparities. |
HB | 4894 | Pay Transparency Act of 2020 | Support | This bill prohibits employers from keeping employees from sharing salary information, which helps erase pay disparities. |
HB | 4896 | Relating to oversight of syringe exchange programs by the Department of Health and Human Resources | Oppose | This bill would restrict how syringe programs can operate, include parameters that are contradictory to evidence-based best-practices. |
HB | 4903 | Requiring that free feminine hygiene products be provided to female prisoners in jails | Support | This bill would require that inmates have access to menstrual products. |
HB | 4905 | Ban-the-Box Act | Support | This bill woud prohibit asking about a person's criminal history until they have been had an interview. This would help with reentry efforts. |
HB | 4913 | Providing a procedure for modification of a prison sentence when a person has served at least 10 years | Support | This bill would allow judges to modify a sentence for people who have served at least 10 years. A presumption of release would be created for people over the age of 50. This is a way to correct egregious sentences, and to reduce the burden on the prison system. |
HB | 4916 | Relating to charges assessed against inmates for services | Support | This bill would prohibit charging inmates above-market fees for goods and services. |
HB | 4923 | Establishing a ratio of one counselor for every 250 students | Support | Adaquate services will help reduce the reliance on the disciplinary and legal system. |
HB | 4924 | Women's Health Protection Act | Oppose | This bill creates additional restrictions and oversight on abortion providers. This is an example of legislation that targets abortion providers with regulation that are intended to prohibit abortion providers. |
HB | 4928 | Requiring medical insurance providers to include infertility services in their policies | Support | Fetility care is part of reproductive care, and ensuring coverage is part of ensuring access to the full range of reproductive rights. |
HB | 4932 | Requiring the random drug testing of legislators and members of the Board of Public Works | Oppose | The ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. |
HB | 4945 | Creating a criminal penalty for an agent or sworn officer who refuses or fails to enforce the Compact Agreement on Detainers in immigration cases | Oppose | This bill is aimed at locations that have a policy of not enforcng immigration law. However, the bill goes beyond that - it removes discretion and creates new criminal penalties for exercising discretion. |
HB | 4948 | Prohibiting discrimination based upon age and sexual orientation, or gender identity | Support | This bill provides protections in housing employment, and pubic accomodations. The ACLU supports these protections. |
SB | 2 | Providing for automated license plate reader systems | Oppose | Automoatic liscence plate readers track and spy on all citizens, storing data about where we go. As this technology expands, the ACLU insists that licence plate readers may only be used by law enforcement agencies only, that the government not store data about innocent people, that people have the ability to find out if their vehicles are in a tracking system, that the data should not be shared, and that there are robust reporting requirements. This legislation does not meet these basic safeguards. |
SB | 7 | Raising age of children who are victims of certain sex offenses to 16 | Support | This bill has good and concerning elements. However, by changing the age of a perpetrator from 15 to 19, it removes the possibility of criminally charging minors for consensual contact. |
SB | 9 | Requiring certain documents that contain wage records be considered confidential | Neutral | There are conflicting issues with governmet transparency and privacy. The ACLU will monitor this for those issues. |
SB | 13 | Increasing burglary penalty if crime against another person committed during burglary | Oppose | This bill provides for a sentence enhancement if there is a burglary and another crime is committed. If there a crime against a person is committed a defendant can be charged and convicted of that. |
SB | 14 | Creating felony offense of attempting to kill another person | Oppose | There are already criminal proviions for injuring a person in an attempt to kill. This would drastically increase those penalties. The ACLU opposes excessive sentences. |
SB | Creating Protect Our Right to Unite Act | Support | This bill would ensure that nonprofit organizations do not have disclose their members and donors, and government agencies have a duty to protect those membership lists. The ACLU supports the right to association and anonymous speech. | |
SB | 22 | Requiring county boards of education to provide free feminine hygiene products in grades six through 12 | Support | Lack of acceess to menstrual products can interfere with a student's ability to attend or participate in school. People should not be denied equal access to educational opportunities. |
SB | 24 | Relating to residency requirements for voter registration | Oppose | This bill seeks to define when a person is a resident for the purposes of voting. This legislation could be used to deny voting to college students and people experiencing homelessness. |
SB | 25 | Relating to adoption records | Support | This legislation allows adult adoptees to obtain adoption records. It provides an important privacy balance in allowing birth parents to have their information redacted. |
SB | 27 | Requiring political action committees disclose contributors' names and addresses to Secretary of State | Oppose | People have a right to anonymous speech and to freely associate. Forced disclosure of membership lists puts a chilling effect on civic participation. |
SB | 29 | Relating to involuntary hospitalization order by physician in certain case | Oppose | The purpose of this bill is to provide for involuntary hospitalization without due process if a magistrate or mental hygiene commissioner cannot be reached. Holding someone against there will is an extreme measure, and it is incumbant on the state provide resources to ensure due process is protected rather than worked around. |
SB | 35 | Limiting civil penalty for littering conviction to $2,000 | Support | This changes the language for a fine for litering from $2,000 to 'up to' $2,000. Applied properly, it allows judicial discretion and avoids excesive fines for people with limited means. |
SB | 37 | Providing long-term care and substance abuse treatment | Support | The ACLU supports the expansion of health care for people with substance abuse disorder and other chronic health issues. However, we will monitor this to ensure that these facilities are not used for long term involuntary commitments. |
SB | 38 | Requiring schools provide elective course on Hebrew Scriptures or Bible | Oppose | Schools cannot promote or endorse any religious view, belief, or text over any other. Merely offering the course as described in this bill barely passes Constitutional muster, in practice it is virtually impossible to avoid improper entanglement of state and religion. |
SB | 40 | Permitting civil actions by social media user for suppression or censorship of user's speech | Neutral | Generally, social media platforms are private enterprises, and are not subject to the rigid protections of the First Amendment. |
SB | 42 | Permitting faith-based electives in classroom drug prevention programs | Oppose | This is yet another attempt to entagle the public education system and religion. The guise of drug prevention may seem worthy, but the Constitutional principles remain the same. |
SB | 44 | Establishing tax credit for certain employers employing eligible individuals recovering from substance use disorder | Support | As the title suggests, this bill creates an incentive to hire people recovering from substance use disorder. These individuals often face significant barriers to employment and the ACLU supports efforts to help those people. |
SB | 55 | Ensuring insurance coverage for residents with preexisting conditions | Support | The ACLU will monitor legislation affecting health insurance to ensure that it provides adequate protections for people with disabilities and preexisting conditions. |
SB | 62 | Creating Katherine Johnson Fair Pay Act of 2020 | Support | This bill ensures that employers cannot prohibit empolyees from discussing salaries and benefits, and prevents employers from inquiring about salary history. This is a good way to rectify gender and racial pay disparities. |
SB | 65 | Establishing Family and Medical Leave Insurance Benefits Act | Support | The ACLU supports paid family leave. |
SB | 68 | Designating DHHR social workers to promote school attendance and performance | Support | This bill requires schools to have social workers to identify at-risk youth and connect them with appropriate services. This is a proactive way to address attendance issues without driving up the juvenile justice population. |
SB | 70 | Requiring any newly constructed building to meet minimum standards for universal design for disabled persons | Support | |
SB | 71 | Requiring minors in possession of marijuana and their parents to attend classes on danger of marijuana | Oppose | Among the reasons to oppose this legislation, parents should not be punished because of what their child does. |
SB | 73 | Relating generally to criteria for political party status | Support | This legislation would make it easier to certify a political party in West Virginia, which is important for civic participation and fully free and fair elections. |
SB | 76 | Limiting liability of employers in cases where certain crime convictions are expunged | Neutral | This bill is designed to encourage reentry by reducing liability for employers. Some critics have questioned whether the legislation may incentivize more employers to ask about criminal history. The ACLU will monitor as this develops. |
SB | 78 | Requiring DHHR to file petition to terminate parental rights under certain circumstances | Oppose | Terminating parental rights is an extreme measure. When it is appropriate it should be made on a case-by-case basis, not by blanket rule. |
SB | 83 | Creating Fetal Heartbeat Act | Oppose | This bill would effectively criminalize abortions at around 6 weeks of gestation - when many people are not even aware they are pregnant. It is completely in violation of Constitutional protections for abortion. |
SB | 87 | Drug testing of legislators | Oppose | The ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. Denying pay to legislators raises additional constitutional concerns. |
SB | 90 | Adjusting distance from polling place certain election-related activity is prohibited | Neutral | By extending the buffer zone where electioneering is prohbited fom 100 feet to 250 feet, this bill tries to draw a balance between the fundamental right to speech on political matters and the need for free and fair elections. |
SB | 94 | Providing persons with physical disabilities ability to vote by electronic absentee ballot | Support | The ACLU supports expanding ballot access. |
SB | 98 | Requiring probationers who served 10 or more years to participate in work release program | Oppose | Conditions and plans for release and reentry should be individualized and should not impose excessive or unnecessary supervision and conditions. This bill also requires withholding 70% of a person's pay until they complete the work-release program, this is also suspect. |
SB | 99 | Alowing voters who register in person with county clerk to vote during early in-person voting | Support | This bill would allow people to register to vote and vote during the early voting period. Expanding the registration time period is another way to improve access to the ballot. |
SB | 100 | Limiting penalty for possession of marijuana to no more than $1,000 without confinement | Support | This is a modest cannabis 'decriminalization' bill, which would prohibit incarceration for simple possession. It does allow fines of up to $1,000 which could be very harmful for people with limited means. Nonetheless, this is a positive step forward in reversing the war on drugs and mass incarceration. |
SB | 103 | Updating election law to provide for language governing new election systems | Support | In addition to updating language to reflect current election practices, this bill would allow people who changed addresses within their precinct or county to update their address and vote a normal ballot during the early voting period. This is a modest improvement allowing for more poeple to vote. |
SB | 110 | Creating Independent Redistricting Commission | Support | Gerrymandering has been used to disenfranchise voters, and particularly to dilute the vote of certain minorities. The ACLU supports independent redistricting that prevents this type of electoral manipulation. |
SB | 113 | Requiring certain disclosures of election expenditures | Oppose | This bill would require discolosing the identities of members and donors to organizations that make campaign expenditures. While there are legitimate concerns about the influence of 'dark money' in elections, the basic freedoms of association and speech - including anonymous speech supercede those concerns. |
SB | 114 | Providing continued eligibility for developmental disability services to dependents of military members | Support | This bill provides that when military members who have dependents with a developmental disability are moved as part of their service, their dependents may still receive state services. Althout this is a limited expansion of services, the ACLU supports efforts to ensure continuity of support services. |
SB | 119 | Creating online voters' guide | Support | This bill would require the Secretary of State to create an online guide with information about each candidate, including links to webpages and social media. This would help create an easy to access, centralized source of information for voters. |
SB | 122 | Creating Appropriation Supremacy Act of 2020 | Oppose | This bill would give appropriations in the budget bill priority over specific appropriations made in earlier legisation. Specific appropriations are often ear-marked because they reflect a specific legislative priority or intent where there is concern that there will not be funding if money is not set aside. The Legislature can freely remove these ear-marks but should be required to change legislation. |
SB | 125 | Prohibiting victim from being subjected to certain physical examinations for sexual offenses | Neutral | This bill prohibits courts from ordering physical examinations of survivors of sexual offenses. These exams may provide exculpatory evidence for criminal defendants, and the ACLU has concerns about limiting acces to that evidence. However, in many instances the exams are unnecessary, invasive, and may dissuade a legitimate case. The ACLU will monitor this to ensure a balance of interests is met. |
SB | 126 | Relating generally to WV Appellate Reorganization Act of 2020 | Oppose | Generally, the ACLU will support additional levels of government review and opportunities for transparency in the legal system. However, this legislation specifically excludes criminal matters from the proposed intermediate court's jurisdiction. Given the importance of criminal matters for basic civil liberties, the ACLU cannot support this legislation. |
SB | 128 | Increasing penalties for malicious assault, unlawful assault, and assault on law-enforcement officer | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements and mandatory minimum sentences. |
SB | 130 | Relating to procedure for driver's license suspension and revocation for DUI | Neutral | This bill eliminates Administrative hearings for the suspension or revokation of drivers licenses. We will follow this closely to ensure that due process protections remain in place. |
SB | 131 | Creating Tim Tebow Act | Oppose | This bill would require local public schools allow home-school or private-school students participate in public school academics or athletics. This requires schools to make expenditures for a student that they are not otherwise receiving money for. |
SB | 134 | Transferring child welfare enforcement responsibilities to State Police | Oppose | Child welfare enforcement can be a highly charged, traumatic line of work. It is much more appropriately handled by professionals skilled in that than by law enforcement. |
SB | 135 | Prohibiting political subdivisions from enacting certain ordinances, regulations, local policies, or other legal requirements | Neutral | As written this bill limits local jursidictions rights to enforce particular consumer and employment rules. However, this could easily be amended to also limit local nondiscrimination laws. For that reason, the ACLU will monitor this legislation. |
SB | 141 | Relating generally to WV Appellate Reorganization Act of 2020 | Oppose | Generally, the ACLU will support additional levels of government review and opportunities for transparency in the legal system. However, this legislation specifically excludes criminal matters from the proposed intermediate court's jurisdiction. Given the importance of criminal matters for basic civil liberties, the ACLU cannot support this legislation. |
SB | 144 | Creating misdemeanor penalty for making materially false statement in course of misdemeanor investigation | Oppose | New crimes and new penalties will only lead to more incarceration. An amendment that prohibits pretrial incarceration for this charge was adopted. |
SB | 145 | Permitting photo identification on voter registration cards | Oppose | This legislation is unnecessary. Furthermore, it will likely be used to require photo ID to vote in future elections. Even if photo ID's are provided on voter registration cards, those cards are not required to vote, and people who lost their cards would be prohibitted from voting. |
SB | 151 | Requiring Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to assist inmates in obtaining certain documents | Support | This bill directs the Division of Corrections and Rehibiltation to ensure that prior to release there is assistance in finding housing and employment, obtaining documents like a social security card and birth certificate, and in life skills. This is a positive and proactive way to assist reentry. |
SB | 156 | Rights of domestic violence victims to know employment and residence location of assailant | Oppose | The ACLU is opposed to crime registries. However this legislation does limit the time a person is on the registry. Further limitations on the purposes of the registry may improve the legislation and strike a better balance. |
SB | 157 | Requiring licensed programs for domestic violence victims offer specific services | Support | This bill would require support services and legal help for survivors of domestic violence. This is a good proactive way to address trauma that can otherwise become cyclical. |
SB | 158 | Requiring State Police visit homes of registered sex offenders at regular intervals | Oppose | The ACLU opposes the use of registries. A prior conviction does not create enough suspicion to override the protections against search without a warrant. |
SB | 166 | Requiring county boards of education to provide free feminine hygiene products in grades five through 12 to certain students | Support | Lack of acceess to menstrual products can interfere with a student's ability to attend or participate in school. People should not be denied equal access to educational opportunities. |
SB | 169 | Relating generally to stalking and harassment | Oppose | One provision of this bill would remove the requirement that repeated instances of stalking or harassment be within a five year period. This could lead to sentence enhacements for unrelated conduct. Another provision creates an enhacement for intentionally or recklessly causing a person to harm themselves. Whiles these situations are tragic, existing criminal laws could cover those situations, and adding this provision will likely result in abuse and excessive sentences. |
SB | 175 | Requiring certain agencies maintain website which contains specific information | Support | This bill would require administrative agencies and county and municipal governments to have websites with contact information and information about operations. This allows for more government transparency, makes it easier for people to contact the government, and will ease information about goverment operations. |
SB | 188 | Requiring participation in drug court program | Oppose | This bill modifies a law that allows first time drug offenders to have their charges discharged if they meet conditions which a court may impose. The bill would require that every person subject to this dicharge must be considered for eligibility into the drug court program. This is not precluded under the current law, but would likely mean more people are put in drug courts. While they can be effective, drug courts subject people to significant supervision, and can significantly interfere with other obligations. This proposal is unnecessary and potentially dangerous. |
SB | 194 | Eliminating requirement that schools be closed on election days | Oppose | Closing schools on election days provides a consistent polling place, and enables students and teachers to vote throughout the day. Keeping schools open would have the opposite effect. |
SB | 204 | Providing for nonpartisan elections of county prosecuting attorneys | Support | The duty of a prosecuting attorney is in the law, and ethical considerations. Political affilation should not matter. |
SB | 207 | Creating Prosecuting Attorney's Detectives Agency | Neutral | Many prosecutors already hire detectives. By providing guidelines and pofessional standars, this can help to rein in potential bad behavior. However, the language also deputizes these individuals, and the ACLU is skeptical about expanding police powers. |
SB | 211 | Relating to unlawful discriminatory practices covered by Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act | Support | The ACLU strongly supports the nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQIA people. |
SB | 212 | Prohibiting civil rights violations based on gender identity or sexual orientation | Support | This bill not only provides protections against hate crimes for people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, but also encourages alternative sentencing and restorative justice. |
SB | 220 | Relating to exemptions from mandated immunizations | Oppose | This bill provides for religious waivers from mandatory vaccinations for schools, colleges, and employment including health-care workers. The ACLU supports religous freedom, however also recoggnizes a compelling government intererest in promoting public health. This legislation does not maintain an adequate balance. |
SB | 222 | Prohibiting renaming or removal of certain monuments | Oppose | This bill would prohibit the removal, destruction, renaming, or relocation of memorials or monuments. While the law is written broadly, it is done in the context of a wave of removing memorials to the Confederacy. The understood intent is to protect those monuments. |
SB | 231 | Creating Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act | Oppose | This bill does not change the existing standard of care. However, it does further stigmatize abortion, and add dangerous rhetoric about abortion. It also creates criminal penalties which could have a chilling effect on abortion care, particularly in instances where there are serious health concerns. |
SB | 235 | Increasing criminal penalties for battery of police officer | Oppose | The ACLU opposes sentence enhancements and mandatory minimum sentences. |
SB | 238 | Making state's whistleblower law applicable to private employment sector | Support | The ACLU supports whistleblower protections. |
SB | 242 | Relating to work requirements for SNAP benefits | Support | This bill would end the work requirement program for SNAP benefits. The ACLU opposed those requirement and would support its repeal. |
SB | 253 | Providing for fair pay and maximized employment of disabled persons | Support | This bill works to find employment for peole with disabilites. It also ensures fair, non-exploitative pay. |
SB | 254 | Adding grievance and appellate procedures for individuals participating in DMV safety and treatment program | Support | This bill adds an appeal process for people participating in the DMV safety and treatment program, who want to challenge an adverse decision. The ACLU supports providing processes for transparency and oversight. |
SB | 257 | Prohibiting discrimination in access to organ transplants based on physical or mental disability | Support | This bill ensures that a person with a disability cannot be denied treatment for transplants. |
SB | 259 | Requiring mandatory incarceration prior to parole for certain persons convicted of distributing controlled substances near libraries | Oppose | Crimes and criminal defendants differ. This bill would expand existing law mandating a period of incarceration, and removing the option for alternative sentencing or lienency based on facts. |
SB | 260 | Collecting of personal information by retail establishments for certain purposes | Support | This bill would limit the purposes for which a retailer can collect certain personal information, require protection of that information and reporting if the information is compromised. |
SB | 261 | Creating criminal penalties for introducing ransomware into computer with intent to extort | Neutral | Generally, the ACLU will oppose new criminal penalties. However, this law is aimed at addressing a new phenomenon. The law is also better crafted because it does not impose a mandatory minimum sentence. |
SB | 267 | Relating to criminal possession of rented or leased personal property | Oppose | This is an unnecssary law that creates a crime that is better handled in civil courts, and, in limited circumstances can be addressed by existing criminal laws. |
SB | 270 | Relating to unlawful discriminatory practices covered by Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act | Support | This bill would prohibit discrimination in employment, public accomodations and housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The ACLU supports this extention of equal rights. |
SB | 271 | Prohibiting civil rights violations | Support | This bill would allow for a 'hate crime' charge on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The ACLU's committment to criminal justice reform is met through encouraging the use of alternative sentencing. |
SB | 272 | Repealing certain misdemeanor offenses | Support | The ACLU supports removing obsolete crimes from the criminal code. |
SB | 275 | Creating Intermediate Court of Appeals | Oppose | Generally, the ACLU will support additional levels of government review and opportunities for transparency in the legal system. However, this legislation specifically excludes criminal matters from the proposed intermediate court's jurisdiction. Given the importance of criminal matters for basic civil liberties, the ACLU cannot support this legislation. |
SB | 276 | Creating Intermediate Court of Appeals | Oppose | Generally, the ACLU will support additional levels of government review and opportunities for transparency in the legal system. However, this legislation specifically excludes criminal matters from the proposed intermediate court's jurisdiction. Given the importance of criminal matters for basic civil liberties, the ACLU cannot support this legislation. |
SB | 277 | Relating to civil asset forfeiture | Support | This bill requires proof of a conviction to forfeit siezed property. The ACLU supports this as a simple, first step reform to civil asset forfeiture. |
SB | 278 | Providing various methods to deal with defendant who becomes incompetent during trial | Support | This bill attempts to deal with ACLU issues such as criminal procedure and involuntary committment. |
SB | 286 | Prohibiting syringe exchange programs | Oppose | Harm reduction are evidence based ways to address substance use and addiction to minimize social harms and increase the chances of a person seeking recovery. |
SB | 287 | Requiring county boards of education establish program for random drug testing of student drivers and student athletes | Oppose | The ACLU opposes suspicion-less drug testing. This bill also violates the privacy rights of students. |
SB | 288 | Relating to family planning and child spacing | Support | This bill would reduce barriers and increase access to long acting reversible contraceptives. The ACLU supports efforts to increase access to contraception. A committee substitute in Senate Children and Families removes concerning language and adds reversal, which dramatically improves the bill. |
SB | 291 | Requiring PEIA and health insurance providers provide mental health parity | Support | West Virginia has a serious need in proving greater access to mental health services. These services are both a preventive and alternative to the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems. We support measures to increase access to these services. |
SB | 292 | Relating to criminal offenses of stalking and harassment | Oppose | This bill creates harsher penalties and sentence enhancements if a victim of stalking or harassment is harmed. These rare and tragic situations can be handled by existing law without enhancements to a different section of code. |
SB | 296 | Requiring student compete in school-sanctioned event based on athlete's biological gender listed on original birth certificate | Oppose | The ACLU supports the rights of transgender athletes. |
SB | 301 | Relating to Foster Care Ombudsman Program | Support | The ACLU supports efforts to provide accountability in a system where the rights of families and children are at stake. |
SB | 302 | Updating laws on foster care | Support | This bill would help match youth with foster families, and provides certain rights for foster youth. The ACLU supports these efforts to minimize the trauma of the foster system. |
SB | 308 | Penalizing individuals who violate financial exploitation protective order | Neutral | This bill provides for criminal penalties for people who violate a court order and engage in financial exploitation. The sanctions are scaled, and the bill does not provide a mandatory minimum. The ACLU will monitor this legislation. |
SB | 311 | Relating to court-ordered community service | Support | This bill incentivizes alternatives to incarceration by limiting liability for judges who use alternative sentencing, specifically, community service. The bill also allows community service to be used in lieu of fines. |
SB | 345 | DHHR rule relating to medical cannabis program general provisions | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
SB | 346 | DHHR rule relating to medical cannabis program growers/processors | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
SB | 347 | DHHR rule relating to medical cannabis program laboratories | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
SB | 348 | DHHR rule relating to medical cannabis program dispensaries | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
SB | 349 | DHHR rule relating to medical cannabis safe harbor letter | Neutral | This provides the general rules that have been promulgated from the WV Medical Cannabis Act. The ACLU will study these rules to ensure they have been faithful to the law and implement best practices. |
SB | 353 | DHHR rule relating to pilot program for drug screening of applicants for cash assistance | Neutral | The legislature previously passed a law implementing a 3 year pilot program to drug test recipients of TANF. The ACLU opposed, and continues to oppose this. This rule changes the sunset date by 1 year to reflect a delay in implemenation of the pilot. |
SB | 373 | Board of Acupuncture rule relating to prior criminal convictions in licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 390 | Board of Chiropractic Examiners rule to consider prior criminal convictions for initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 401 | Board of Hearing Aid Dealers rule to consider prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 402 | Board of Landscape Architects rule to consider prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 404 | Massage Therapy Licensure Board rule to consider prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 411 | Board of Occupational Therapy rule relating to consideration of prior criminal convictions in initial licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 433 | Real Estate Commission rule to consider prior criminal convictions in license determination | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 438 | Board of Respiratory Care rule relating to consideration of prior conviction in licensure determinations | Support | This rule prohibits denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 472 | Providing alternative sentencing program for work release | Support | Incarceration is an extreme penalty. The ACLU supports the use of alternative sentencing. We will monitor this bill to ensure that an alternative sentence is not used for forced labor. |
SB | 473 | Requiring physicians notify parents when prescribing contraceptives to minors | Oppose | Parental notification will discourage minors from requesting or using contraceptives. In some circumstances parental notification could put the minor's safety at risk. |
SB | 474 | Requiring public schools notify parents when dispensing contraceptives to minors | Oppose | Parental notification will discourage minors from requesting or using contraceptives. In some circumstances parental notification could put the minor's safety at risk. |
SB | 475 | Requiring posting of Ten Commandments in every courthouse | Oppose | The display of the 10 Commandmants on public property is a violation of the Establishment Clause. |
SB | 480 | Enacting WV Human Life Protection Act | Oppose | This bill would outlaw most abortions as early as 6 weeks, before many people even know they are pregnant. |
SB | 483 | Eliminating restriction to carry firearm on State Capitol Complex grounds | Oppose | While the West Virginia Constitution does provide an individual right to carry a firearm, the presence of firearms can stifle necessary debate on controversial topics. |
SB | 484 | Requiring free feminine hygiene products be provided to female prisoners | Support | The ACLU supports ensuring people in state custody have access to items necessary for basic dignity. |
SB | 496 | Prohibiting employment of unauthorized employees in construction industry | Oppose | This bill would require particpation in the E-Verify program. E-Verify is highly problematic. Errors in the system can hurt regular workers. There are significant due process concerns. The system creates to privacy and security liabilities. |
SB | 499 | Removing barriers to employment for certain individuals with criminal records | Support | This bill would prohibit denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 502 | Relating to methamphetamine criminal penalty | Oppose | This bill would increase the penalty for methamphetamine trafficking. Increased penalties do not deter drug crime but do contribute to mass incarceration and can lead to greater racial disparities in the crimanl system. |
SB | 503 | Removing barriers to employment for certain individuals with criminal records | Support | This bill would prohibit denying an occupational liscence on the basis of a prior criminal conviction unless there is a rational nexus between the occupation and the conviction. |
SB | 507 | Requiring certain persons who commit criminal offense while in juvenile custody not be held within sight or sound of adult inmates | Support | The ACLU opposed a prior change that required people in juvenile custody to be transferred to adult facilities. This bill clarifies that those young adults have to be kept out of sight and sound of adult inmates. |
SB | 527 | Creating small business and minority populations economic and workforce development taskforce | Support | This bill would create a taskforce to study and make reccomendations regarding minority economic conditions. |
SB | 528 | Creating Uniform Worker Classification Act | Oppose | This bill would reclassify many workers as independent contractors. As such they would not be subject to the provisions of the WV Human Rights Act. The ACLU opposes removing protections for a braod swath of workers. |
SB | 529 | Establishing limitations on claims and benefits against state | Oppose | This bill would limit how long people have to file a wrongful imprisonment, wrongful conviction, or similar claim. The deprivation of such basic rights requires redress regardless of the timeframe in which it occurred. |
SB | 536 | Relating to disclosure of fundraising contributions during legislative session | Support | This bill increases access to important information to allow voters to make informed decisions. |
SB | 541 | Creating position of homeless education coordinator | Support | This bill would require each county to have a paid position whos responsibility to to work with homeless and transient students and families to help ensure education. This would help reduce trunacy cases, help struggling families, and help ensure the state is meeting its constitutional mandate to provide a thorogh and efficient system of education. |
SB | 542 | Prohibiting political activities by members of State Board of Education | Neutral | The ACLU will monitor this legislation. The bill puts significant restraints on basic political activity of members of thr State Board of Education, even when taken during personal time. |
SB | 543 | Establishing Minority Health Advisory Team | Support | This legislation focuses on studying social and economic factors affecting minority comunities and developing projects to assist those communities based on findings. |
SB | 561 | Prohibiting insurers from denying coverage as result of preexisting condition | Support | The ACLU supports legislation to ensure adequate protections for people with disabilities and preexisting conditions. |
SB | 562 | Expunging certain criminal convictions | Support | This bills makes minor technical changes to the expungement law. It clarifies where a person can apply for expungement, and it allows for more than one application to expungment. These are all positive changes that will help the law. |
SB | 563 | Eliminating suspension of driver's license for failure to pay court fines and costs | Support | This bill would completely remove the ability to suspend a person's driver's license for failure to pay court fines and costs. This practice unfairly punishes people with limited means, and often results in losing their work, making them less likely to pay. |
SB | 568 | Increasing time period elected official may not appear before government entity they serve | Neutral | This bill would prohibit elected officials, during their service and for two years after from appearing in an advocacy role in front of government entities. This raises concerns about restraint on speech. Conversely, there is a legitimate concern about undue influence. |
SB | 580 | Continuing Foster Care Ombudsman Program | Support | This bill expands the Foster Care Ombudsman. This position provides oversight and accountability to government agencies. |
SB | 581 | Requiring disclosure of dark money political expenditures | Oppose | The ACLU believes in the right to anonymous speech. |
SB | 584 | Transferring jurisdiction of contested elections to circuit court | Neutral | This bill lets circuit courts review contensted elections, instead of county commissions. The ACLU will monitor this to ensure the legislation provides adaquate transparency and procedure. |
SB | 585 | Relating to Human Life Non-Discrimination Act | Oppose | This bill would prohibit abortions "because of" sex, race or genetic condition. It would require specific reporting about abortions. The ACLU opposes this because the decision to have an abortion is often based on many factors, and it is between a doctor and a pregnant person to decide which medical procedures are appopriate. |
SB | 590 | Implementing trauma-informed practices in schools | Support | Trauma-informed practices reduce reliance on the disciplinary and judicial systems, and can help break cyclical trauma. |
SB | 591 | Establishing Office of State Inspector General | Support | This bill would create an Inspector General. This could increase government transparency and accountability. |
SB | 595 | Relating to WV Monument and Memorial Protection Act of 2020 | Oppose | This bill would prohibit the removal, destruction, renaming, or relocation of memorials or monuments. While the law is written broadly, it is done in the context of a wave of removing memorials to the Confederacy. The understood intent is to protect those monuments. |
SB | 612 | Allowing work programs or community service as alternative sentencing | Support | This bill provides a minor change to existing alternative sentencing law. It allows work programs with with county and state agencies. The expansion of alternative sentencing options is one way to address mass incarceration. |
SB | 616 | Relating to employment grievance procedure for public employees | Oppose | This bill would make it more difficult for public empolyees to get involved in representation activities during grievance procedures. This is att odds with the right to association. |
SB | 617 | Amending procedures for refusing certain offenders for commitment to jail | Oppose | This bill creates indemnity for correctional staff when an inmate refuses medical treatment. If the state is going to take custody of people, they bear the burden of keeping them safe and healthy without compelling medical care. |
SB | 620 | Authorizing Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation approve home plans for inmates | Support | This bill would require the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop home plans for certain inmates,and to develop a parole plan for nonviolent inmates. |
SB | 623 | Allowing noncitizen of US be eligible for teaching certificate | Support | This bill would allow certain non-citizens to get a certificate to teach. This is another avenue open for immigrants and refugees. |
SB | 627 | Authorizing local board of health to engage in office-based medication-assisted treatment | Support | This bill would allow local boards of health provide medication assisted treatment for people with substance use disorder. Treatment will be different for all people, and it is important to have a variety of options without unnecessary restraints or stigma. |
SB | 637 | Prohibiting home schooling of children in certain circumstances | Oppose | This bill would prohibit homeschooling if there is suspicion of child abuse or neglect. People cannot be deprived their rights based solely on suspicion, and assessments should be made on an individual basis. |
SB | 643 | Creating Youth Mental Health Protection Act | Support | This bill would ban the practice of conversion therapy, which has been shown to be harmful to LGBTQ youth. |
SB | 663 | Exempting certain hygiene products from sales tax | Support | This bill would end the tax of menstrual products. The ACLU supports ending this tax. |
SB | 665 | Requiring persons convicted of certain crimes on or after March 8, 1995, provide DNA samples | Oppose | This bill expands an existing law which requires DNA collection of people convicted of certain crimes. If this bill passes all persons conviceted after 1995 will have to provide DNA samples. This is an invasion of privacy, applied retroactively to affect a quarter-century of convictions. |
SB | 678 | Waiving fines and fees for completing Getting Over Addicted Lifestyles Successfully Program | Support | This bill provides incentives for rehabilitative programs while incarcerated, and removes fines and fees for participation. |
SB | 692 | Clarifying persons indicted or charged jointly for felony offense can move to have separate trial | Support | The ACLU supports the rights of defendants to have seperate trials that have not been contaminated by other issues. |
SB | 696 | Relating to Pay Transparency Act of 2020 | Support | This bill prohibits employers from keeping employees from sharing salary information, which helps erase pay disparities. |
SB | 706 | Clarifying duties of law-enforcement training and certification subcommittee | Support | This bill would double the hours of training for law enforcement and remove ways to bypass classroom hours. Proper training for law enforcement is a way to reduce the risk of basic civil liberties violations. |
SB | 716 | Requiring DHHR pay for tubal ligation without 30-day wait between consent and sterilization | Support | This bill expands medical coverage for reproductive healthcare. |
SB | 723 | Requiring Department of Education develop plan based on analyzed data on school discipline | Neutral | This bill would require the Department of Education to study discipline and develop a program that would address the number of disciplinary actions in schools. The ACLU encourages use of school disclipline over court referrals, and judicious use of school discipline applied in a fair manner, focusing on corrective action and restorative justice. Without more guidance, this particular mandate could violate some of these principles. |
SB | 733 | Recognizing political party status | Support | This bill makes a minor change to how political parties can be recognized. |
SB | 752 | Relating generally to medical cannabis | Support | This bill improves the medical cannabis act. |
SB | 765 | Modifying "Habitual Offender" statute | Oppose | This bill would add new crimes for which someone could be labeled a habitual offender and increase the maximum sentence enhancement up to 15 years. |
SB | 785 | Establishing uniform electioneering prohibition area | Support | This bill seeks to make the electioneering law uniform between early voting day and lectioin day locations. |
SB | 797 | Authorizing governing boards of public and private hospitals employ hospital police officers | Oppose | To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. People come to hospitals in various forms of physical, emotional and mental distress. Law enforcement are signigicantly more likely to use force, and to file criminal charges for people who need help. Law enforement at hosptials may also discouage people who genuinely need medical care from seeking it, if they have legal issues. An amendment does require some specialized training, however, the bill remains problematic. |
SB | 807 | Requiring statewide full-time professional counselor to student ratio of one to every 250 students | Support | This bill sets a maximum ratio of students per counselor. This will help to ensure that there are adaquate appropriate resources for students and the school to avoid over-reliance on the disciplinary or legal system. |
SB | 821 | Providing immunity from civil liability to facilities and employees providing crisis stabilization | Oppose | This bill would create immunity for health care facilities and providers that engage in mental health and and drug crisis stabalization. These are important services that often are an alternative to incarceration. Immunity may incentivize more of these services. However, the population who would utilize these services are very vulnerable, and blanket immunity is not an appropriate way to create more services. |
SB | 826 | Implementing system for ranked choice voting for election of justices to WV Supreme Court of Appeals | Support | This bill would create a ranked choice voting system where voters would rank their preferred candidates for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. This allows voters to indicate true preference rather than making strategic votes. It also alleviates the problem of Supreme Court justices being elected by a small plurality of voters. |
SB | 838 | Directing state police establish referral program for substance abuse treatment | Support | This bill presents a very good way to address addiction. It provides criminal immunity for people. It allows for voluntary treatment, as opposed to coercing treatment. |
SJR | 1 | Clarification of the Judiciary's Role in Impeachment Proceedings Amendment | Oppose | Impeachment is a political process. Courts give deference to the legislature in political matters, but it is a violation of the balance of powers to preemptively deny the courts any opportunity to review legal issues arising out of an impeachment. |
HJR | 3 | Term Limits for Senators and Delegates in the West Virginia Legislature | Oppose | The ACLU opposes term limits. |
SJR | 4 | Protection of Electronic Communication and Data Amendment | Support | This proposed amendment would extend protections against unreasonable search and seizure to electronic communications and data. The ACLU strongly supports this. |
HJR | 4 | Life Begins at Conception Amendment | Oppose | The ACLU opposes attempts to interfere with the right to an abortion. |
SCR | 4 | Urging Congress call convention to propose amendment on congressional term limits | Oppose | The ACLU opposes invoking an Article V convention of the states - because there are not adaquate constitutional safeguards. The ACLU also opposes term limits. |
HJR | 5 | Senators and Delegates Service Limit Amendment | Oppose | This is an amendment that would effectively create term limits. The ACLU opposes term limits. |
SJR | 7 | Preserving the Separation of Powers Amendment | Oppose | This proposed amendment would prohibit the courts from making rulings on legislative process and procedures. The courts play a vital role as a check and balance on the other branches, and this amendment would limit their ability to do so. |
SCR | 10 | Requesting study of current WV laws relating to anti-bullying measures in schools | Support | The ACLU recognizes that schools have an affirmative obligation to create a safe, harassment-free learning environment for all students. However, reliance on disciplinary and legal systems to enforce creates other civil liberties concerns. We support a measured approach to study the issue and develop strategies that can provide the appropriate learning environment without perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline. |
SCR | 11 | Asking Congress call convention for proposing amendments to impose fiscal restraints on federal government | Oppose | The ACLU opposes invoking an Article V convention of the states - because there are not adaquate constitutional safeguards. The ACLU also opposes term limits. |
HJR | 15 | Legislator Term Limit Amendment | Oppose | The ACLU opposes term limits. |
SR | 15 | Recognizing contributions of American Civil Liberties Union on its centennial anniversary | Support | Happy Birthday ACLU! |
HJR | 16 | Senators and Delegate Service Limit Amendment | Oppose | This is an amendment that would effectively create term limits. The ACLU opposes term limits. |
HCR | 21 | Calling a convention of the states to limit the terms of office for a Member of the United States House of Representatives and for a Member ofthe United States Senate | Oppose | The ACLU opposes invoking an Article V convention of the states - because there are not adaquate constitutional safeguards. The ACLU also opposes term limits. |
HJR | 27 | Initiative, Referendum, and Recall Amendment | Support | Initiatives, referendums, and recalls all expand democratic control and principles. The ACLU would support this. |
SCR | 27 | Requesting study on ways to make State Capitol building more handicap accessible | Support | Lack of accesability limits the ability of some people to fully petition their government and participate in the process. Examining ways to remedy this is a worthy goal. |
HJR | 29 | Limiting the terms of members of the House of Delegates amendment | Oppose | The ACLU opposes term limits. |
HCR | 44 | Study regarding suitable physical, technological, and procedural accommodations for disabled persons in all buildings of the West Virginia State Capitol Complex | Support | The ACLU encourages accessability to our government. |
HCR | 48 | Imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress | Oppose | This resoultion would call for a convention of the states to address multiple issues. The ACLU opposes an Article V convention, speicifically because of concern that it cannot be limited. Opening the convention to multiple issues only makes the more dangerous. The ACLU also opposes term limits. |
HCR | 50 | Requesting the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to conduct annual studies on the reporting of sexual assaults in the state's correctional facilities | Support | Sexual assualt in prison remains a serious and all-too common occurrence. The state has an obligation to provide for the safety of inmates and this study is a step in meeting that obligation. |
HCR | 71 | Urging Congress to recognize June 19 as "Juneteenth Nation Freedom Day" as a national holidal | Support | The ACLU supports recognizing this important date in civil rights history. |
HCR | 95 | Establishment Act | Oppose | This resolution invokes religious freedom to label all hard fought and won equal rights and dignity for the LGTBQ communities (and others) as a promotion of the religion of secular humanism and to prohibit state recognition of those rights. |
HJR | 101 | Amendment to the West Virginia Constitution providing the West Virginia Legislature rule-making oversight of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and circuit court | Oppose | This proposed amendment interferes with the separation of powers, by giving the legislature control over the judiciary. |
HJR | 108 | Allowing citizens to participate directly in the formation of legislative districts by creating a nonpartisan citizen commission | Support | This proposed Constitutional amendent would create a bipartisan rediscrticting committee. The ACLU supports the intent to generate more citizen input and involvement, and to end partisan gerrymandering. |
HJR | 116 | Allowing an elected state official to be a government employee or employee of a public school, college, or university | Support | This proposed constitutional amendment allows "dual-employment" for certain state employees - allowing them to hold elected office. The current strict prohibition disallows a signifcant percentage of people, including many with a proven track record of public serivce, from holding elected offie. |