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Morrisey’s week one overreach

New Governor Patrick Morrisey has come out of the blocks fast with a series of executive orders to implement his policies. Several of the orders are pretty straightforward; he wants state agencies to operate more efficiently, a review of state spending dating back to the start of the fiscal year, and an examination of state regulations, workforce and licensing rules to make West Virginia more competitive with neighboring states.

Morrisey promised all this during the campaign, and it is appropriate for him to follow through on those promises. It is healthy for both the public and private sectors to conduct periodic top-down reviews aimed at producing efficiencies and improving operations. Good for him.

However, a couple of his executive orders are either unnecessary or beyond his authority. Let’s start with the most egregious; Executive order 7-25 providing a religious exemption for mandatory school vaccinations. There are several issues with this:

First, state code (16-3-4) requires immunization of school children against the most serious childhood diseases for admission to public and private schools. It is the law, and neither Morrisey nor any governor can, with the wave of a hand, order education and public health officials to ignore the law.

Second, Morrisey argues that a state law passed in 2023—the Equal Protection for Religion Act—gives him the authority to make the sweeping declaration. It does no such thing. That vague law is the result of a watered down bill to satisfy religious conservatives in the House of Delegates  that carries little legal weight.

Third, Morrisey said on Talkline Wednesday that the vaccine requirement makes West Virginia an outlier since only six states do not have a religious exemption for school vaccinations. That isn’t a negative; it’s a positive that has helped ensure the health of our children.

For example, the number of cases of measles is increasing across the country as states have relaxed their requirements. The Centers for Disease Control reports that measles cases occur for two reasons—when an increased number of travelers bring measles cases here from abroad and when there are pockets of unvaccinated people in communities.

Former Governor Jim Justice vetoed a bill last year that would have removed the immunization requirement after the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics sent a letter to him arguing that the bill ran “counter to our goals to protect our patients and the population at large from preventable and deadly diseases.”

Governors have the power to dictate to state agencies how they operate, as long as those orders do not violate existing law, and the chief executive can even go beyond that limitation in times of emergencies, such as floods. This is no emergency.

Then there is Morrisey’s executive order terminating any DEI programs (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs in state government. Just the term “DEI” has become a convenient catchall for anything social conservatives object to that has any hint of racial overtones.

The purge may turn up a couple of programs, but DEI’s impact on the state and its people is negligible at best. In addition, any college or university with DEI offices are likely funded with federal dollars and necessary for those schools to receive federal funding.

This effort feels like a “check-the-box” attempt by Morrisey to burnish his conservative credentials if and when he decides to run for the U.S. Senate.

Oh, and one other point. In 2021, Morrisey took President Biden to task for issuing executive orders as soon as he took office. “If you care about unity, you don’t spend the first 11 days of your administration issuing one far-reaching executive order after another. His rhetoric doesn’t match his actions,” Morrisey said.

It is apparent that someone else’s rhetoric doesn’t match his actions.

The chief executive of West Virginia holds considerable power, both by law and by way of public support. Patrick Morrisey is entitled and empowered to carry out his vision and fulfill his campaign promises.

However, that does not mean he can act with impunity, exceed his authority or ignore the law.

 





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