Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Good: HB 4252 — to cap insulin copays at $35 and copays for related devices (but not
insulin pumps) at $100. Besides the fact that affordable insulin is a huge problem in West
Virginia (and America as a whole), this bill is particularly special because of its
bipartisan nature. It’s sponsored by two Republicans and our own Barbara Evans
Fleischauer.
Bad: SB 31 — redirects soda tax from WVU Medicine to local law enforcement. We can
understand the impulse to financially support law enforcement, but the soda tax funds
important medical research. Also in the pipeline this legislative session are two bills
related to marijuana: one to legalize recreational marijuana and the other to legalize
medical marijuana edibles. Pass these bills and use the tax revenue from marijuana to
fund law enforcement instead.
Bad and Stupid: HB 4038 — to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to concealed carry without a
permit. There’s a reason people aren’t allowed to buy handguns until they are 21. Science
has shown that teens’ brains are still developing, and they often don’t fully understand
the consequences of their actions. It’s one thing to allow teenagers to use hunting rifles
— in West Virginia, it’s practically a rite of passage — but there is no reason to let them
walk around armed wherever they go, especially without going through the permitting
process.
Good: HB 4088 and HB 4092 — to establish guidelines for creating and taxing rare earth
mineral extraction industries. We’ve discussed rare earth mineral/metal extraction before.
These elements, which can be found in acid mine drainage, are essential to electronics
manufacturing. So, rare earth mineral extraction gives the U.S. a leg up over China and it
incentivizes cleaning up AMD. Win-win for us.
Bad and Stupid: HB 4031 — to ban mask mandates. Really? Almost two years into this
pandemic — more than 5,500 West Virginians and more than 850,000 Americans are
dead — and we’re seriously looking at banning mask mandates? If certain politicians
would put as much effort into protecting public health as they do trying to thwart it, we
very well could have kissed COVID goodbye a year ago.