Today, the House of Delegates passed 19 bills. However, most of the four-hour floor session was spent debating amendments to Senate Bill 460, which changes immunization requirements. The House Health and Human Resources Committee produced a committee substitute that strengthened medical exemptions, which is what the majority of presenters were concerned about during the hearing. It allowed licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to provide written statements to schools and childcare centers when they deem specific immunizations inappropriate for the child.
Several amendments were offered to the Health and Human Resources Committee’s amendment, but only one was adopted to the committee substitute.
Amendments offered but rejected include:
- HFA Canterbury: removing chickenpox and hepatitis B from mandatory immunizations list.
- HFA Fehrenbacher: requiring provider to be licensed in West Virginia and have an established relationship with the child, no telehealth, allow licensing board to act if the process is abused
- HFA Ferrell: limiting the amount of exemption provided to maintain 95 percent herd immunity
- HFA Kimble: removing the requirement of immunizations to attend any school in West Virginia
- HFA White: providing religious and philosophical exemptions to immunizations, prohibiting exclusion in extracurriculars based on immunization status, allowing for civil action to be taken
- HFA Coop-Gonzalez: restoring the original language of the bill as provided by the Governor
The following amended the Health and Human Resources Committee’s amendment.
- HFA Green: providing religious exemptions to immunizations, but allowing private and parochial schools to make their immunization policies
A competing amendment for the Health and Human Resources amendment, HFA Anders, would have restored the bill to the Senate’s amended form of the bill. This amendment was not taken up due to the adoption of the amended House Committee Substitute.
The bill will be up for passage on Monday. As it stands, Senate Bill 460 provides medical exemptions for specific mandatory immunizations, if a licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner provides a written statement to the administrator of the school or childcare center stating the immunization could be detrimental to the child’s health. It provides the Medical Board cannot act against providers who give written statements if they are acting in good faith. The bill also requires the providers to report the exemptions they’ve granted. The amended bill provides for a religious exemption and allows private or parochial schools to create their own immunization policy. The bill prohibits children from being excluded from extracurricular activities based on immunization status.
The House is adjourned until 11 a.m. Monday, March 24, 2025.
Committee Meetings, Today March 21
- The Finance Committee will meet immediately after the floor session in Room 460.
- The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 2:30 p.m. in Room 215E.
Committee Meetings, Monday, March 24
- The Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 460.
- The Judiciary Committee will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 410.
- The Rules Committee will meet at 10:45 a.m. in Room 215E.
- The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 432M.
- The Committee on Government Organization will meet at 1 p.m. in Room 215E.
- The Subcommittee on Energy and Public Works will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 410.
- The Committee on Health and Human Resources will meet at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E.
