The full House of Delegates will consider a bill characterized as banning diversity, equity and inclusion practices in state government.
The House Judiciary Committee, on a voice vote, advanced the bill on Tuesday morning. No committee member explicitly argued in favor of the bill, although several argued against it.
Senate Bill 474 aims to eliminate initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion from all departments, divisions, agencies, boards, public primary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education.
Ninety-three percent of West Virginia’s population is White and almost 4% of residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census. About 2% of state residents are Hispanic.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has called for ending DEI initiatives across state government. The acronym stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
It’s a set of policies in business, government and academia aimed at promoting the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination based on identity or disability.
Social conservatives have taken aim at the policies as a kind of reverse discrimination.
Delegate Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio, said he could not support the bill “because I think it’s horrible.”
He said one of his most challenging accomplishments in law school was the completion of a critical race theory class.
“I understand a lot of you haven’t had that class, and it’s hard to explain to somebody that hasn’t had that class until you can actually see historically some of the things that have happened in our country,” he said.
He continued, “What we do to people without realizing it hurts and can harm. To say that we are color blind, I think, is incorrect.”
This bill includes the executive branch, primary and secondary schools, and higher education institutions.
The bill restricts the imposition of certain concepts related to race and gender on students and employees, and prevents employees from being compelled to use preferred pronouns that do not align with a student’s biological sex at birth.
“Can you point to any statute in our code that now compels a teacher to use certain pronouns?” Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, asked counsel for the Judiciary Committee.
No was the answer.
Fluharty later said he would not vote for the bill.
“This bill does nothing to help West Virginians. It checks political boxes,” Fluharty said. “Our governor will celebrate it as some big accomplishment.”
The bill calls for official neutrality on associated terms such as unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, identity group allyship, micro aggressions, group marginalization, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, racial privilege and critical race theory.
The bill forbids establishing or maintaining an office or division meant to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. And it prohibits directing an employee or contracted third party to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
It would not allow requiring any person to provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or give preferential consideration to any person based on the provision of a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement.
It would prohibit giving employment preference on the basis of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it would disallow requiring as a condition of employment that an employee participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training.
Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, asked why the policies refer to race, color and national origin but not other aspects of life.
“So am I right to interpret this to mean that, according to this bill, diversity, equity and inclusion is OK as a matter of policy, so long as it supports underserved populations and low income and middle income people and women who might not have access to STEM but when it comes to race, it’s not OK?”
Hansen later said he would vote against the bill because “diversity is what makes us strong as a country and as a state.
It makes us strong in our academic institutions, makes us stronger in our private businesses, and everybody needs to have access.
However, he said, “this bill picks and chooses what type of diversity, equity and inclusion shall be illegal and what types of diversity, equity and inclusion is explicitly allowed.”