As a reporter, I try to keep emotion out of my writing. This column isn’t meant to be a venting session—it’s supposed to give you a look at what’s happening behind the scenes at the Capitol: the decisions, the drama, and sometimes the dysfunction. But after witnessing what unfolded in the West Virginia Senate on the final night of the 2025 legislative session, it’s hard not to feel frustrated.
That night’s last major bill was Senate Bill 474, which aims to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in state government, K-12, and higher education. Whether you support or oppose the bill, what should concern everyone is how it was passed.
SB 474 was introduced on February 14, just two days after the session began, and sponsored on behalf of Gov. Patrick Morrisey—who had already signed an executive order banning DEI policies.
Despite this early introduction, the bill didn’t even get a committee hearing for nearly four weeks. It crawled through the Senate Judiciary and Finance Committees and wasn’t passed by the Senate until March 26. From there, it took another 19 days to make its way through the House.
On April 12—the last day of the session—the House took up the bill in the evening. Debate on amendments was limited to one hour total, a restriction that didn’t apply to the explanations by the lead sponsor or rebuttals.
That led to over two hours of intense back-and-forth. Among the voices opposing the bill were the legislature’s only three Black delegates, who gave powerful speeches on the House floor.
By 11:14 p.m.—just 45 minutes before the midnight deadline—the Senate finally received the amended bill from the House. Senator Joey Garcia, one of only two Democrats in the Senate, had filed 15 additional amendments.
The Senate was preparing to vote to accept the House’s changes without considering Garcia’s amendments. That motion was suddenly pulled after a private huddle between Republican senators and Senate President Randy Smith.
Then came a series of procedural maneuvers that can best be described as parliamentary gymnastics. The Senate passed the bill on a party-line 31–2 vote with only eight minutes to spare before midnight.
