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West Virginia Dems Call For Tighter COVID Protocols At Capitol After Lawmaker Tests Positive

Top Democrats at West Virginia’s statehouse are calling on the Republican majority to tighten safety protocols after Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, tested positive over the weekend for the coronavirus.

Steele’s positive test marks the first and only case of the coronavirus since the legislative session began Feb. 10. Steele, who said Sunday he was in good shape but is quarantining at home, acknowledged Sunday that he opted not to receive a vaccine from the coronavirus, citing medical issues.

At least two other lawmakers — Del. Josh Higginbotham, R-Putnam, and Sen. Patrick Martin, R-Lewis — are voluntarily under quarantine following Steele’s positive test result. The House also is making tests available on the Capitol grounds.

At a Monday morning news conference, House Minority Leader Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, said Steele’s diagnosis should serve as a warning to West Virginians and those working at the Capitol during the session.

“COVID is still out there. COVID is real, this pandemic is, is still going on. And it affects each and every one of us,” Skaff said. “And we can’t let our guards down.”

Ahead of the beginning of the session, the House of Delegates passed a rule that requires masks while on the floor or during committee meetings. Exceptions can be made for delegates who are eating or drinking at their desks or while speaking on the floor.

Aside from his work as a lawmaker, Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, works as a physician. He said sentiments downplaying the pandemic continue to affect the state and its residents.

“The anti-mask and the anti-[vaccine] mentality is alive and well here in West Virginia. That saddens me — 2,606 West Virginians have died due to COVID,” Stollings said. “Some of those were my patients. Some of those were my best friends. This is serious.”

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, commended Republican leaders like Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, for moving quickly in responding to the confirmation of a case at the Capitol.

“I think they stepped up to the plate. They are concerned about the situation here,” Baldwin said. “But as Minority Leader Skaff and Sen. Stollings said, there comes a time when things need to get real. And we are at the time when things need to get real.”

Skaff said he understands that 86 of 100 House members chose to be vaccinated, but said he was unaware about the number of staff — both full time and per diem — who had gotten the shot. Baldwin said roughly 25 or 26 of 34 senators have been fully vaccinated.

Baldwin also made mention of a letter that went out from Blair and Hanshaw stating that legislators are expected to wear a mask at all times or be subject to removal by the Sergeant at Arms.

“We’re saying it’s time to enforce that. Plain and simple,” Baldwin said.

Given the unknowns at play, Skaff said he believes the session should shut down if additional lawmakers test positive.

“If you see a second and third case start popping up here at the Capitol, we should stop immediately and quarantine — everybody go away for at least two weeks,” Skaff said.

Lawmakers absent in the Senate due to coronavirus safety protocols are allowed to vote by proxy through a designee. A spokesperson for the House says the body has adopted no such rule to allow for proxy voting and is not planning to make any rule changes before the end of the session.

West Virginia House Gov. Org. Chair Brandon Steele Tests Positive For Coronavirus

The chair of the West Virginia House of Delegates House Government Organization Committee has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Updated Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 10:20 p.m.

The chair of the West Virginia House of Delegates House Government Organization Committee has tested positive for the coronavirus. The House announced Sunday that Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, tested positive Saturday.

“I went and got tested after my wife became ill,” Stelle said by phone. “She tested positive on Saturday — and that’s when I went and tested and was positive.”

Steele’s diagnosis marks the first for a lawmaker during the course of the 60-day legislative session, which began Feb. 10. Access to the Capitol during the pandemic has been limited to those on “official business,” as per an order from Gov. Jim Justice.

On Sunday, Steele likened his symptoms to that of “seasonal allergies.”

“I’ve not had a cough, I’ve not had a fever,” he said, noting that he was told by his physician that he also had pneumonia.

Steele said he will be quarantining at least through the end of this week. House Government Organization Vice Chair Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, will take over the top spot in the committee during that time.

“I think it’s something to say for the way the Legislature has handled this that we’ve made it five weeks — with 134 people from all over the state coming in and going home every weekend and coming back — that it took us five weeks to have a positive test,” Steele said.

Steele said he decided not to receive a vaccine for the coronavirus. Lawmakers were given priority to get the vaccine under Justice’s plan that cited the “continuity of government.”

“I’m for choice,” Steele said about not getting the shot. “I was in the Marines, I’ve had them all. I’m more for choice. It’s a choice you make for you and your family. There’s contraindications in my medical history to me getting the vaccine — and that’s why I didn’t take it.”

House Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, also confirmed Steele’s positive test in a statement provided to the news media on Sunday afternoon. Summers offered some information on protocols in light of a member testing positive.

“We have attempted to notify anyone who had the potential of high-risk exposure to this member, which would have meant close contact for more than 15 minutes, and we also want everyone with the House of Delegates to be aware of this positive case,” Summers said.

Lawmakers in the House are required to wear masks or face coverings while 100 members gather daily for floor sessions and smaller groups meet for committee meetings. While most delegates abide by the requirement, some have been photographed wearing mesh masks or nothing at all. Some lawmakers often remove their masks to speak on the floor.

Summers said the House has verified its mitigation plan with state coronavirus czar Dr. Clay Marsh, and said Marsh has “verified appropriate measures are in place.”

“Testing with increased capability will be offered at the Capitol beginning Monday, with drive-through options available and more details about testing to be shared as soon as they are available,” Summers said.

House of Delegates spokesperson Ann Ali said leaders in the House plan to continue the legislative session without interruption despite Steele testing positive. Steele said he believed the impact of his positive test result would be minimal on lawmakers and the legislative process.

“I haven’t been in touch with very many senators, anyhow. So I think the impact is very limited over there — to none,” Steele said. “At least on the House side, every delegate was notified on Saturday night by our leadership. We got messages out to all staff that I came into contact with.”

Del. Josh Higginbotham, R-Putnam, said he would be quarantining due to having close interactions with Steele. And at least one lawmaker from across the rotunda — Sen. Patrick Martin, R-Lewis — announced Sunday he would be voluntarily quarantining due to contact with Steele on Thursday.

Rules in the West Virginia Senate allow for lawmakers to vote by proxy, which means a senator can vote through a designee. No such rule exists in the House of Delegates.

West Virginia House Passes Bill Providing Immunity From Pandemic-Related Lawsuits

The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed a bill protecting businesses, health care providers and individuals from being sued because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Bill 277 would offer near-total immunity for businesses, healthcare systems and individuals on suits related to incidents dating back to Jan. 1, 2020. West Virginia, which was the last state in the U.S. to report a case of the coronavirus, did not report a confirmed case until March 17, 2020.

The legislation passed the lower chamber on a 76-24 vote, with Del. Barry Bruce, R-Greenbrier, being the only Republican to join Democrats in voting against the measure.

Republicans across the statehouse have argued the measure aims to protect businesses who could become the target of a flurry of lawsuits should customers or employees become infected or die from the coronavirus.

As the bill progressed through both the House and Senate, Democrats argued that the bill would allow for “bad actors” who intentionally harm others. Members of the minority unsuccessfully attempted to include exceptions to allow for lawsuits against those who are reckless or act with “actual malice.”

According to data compiled by Hunton, Andrews & Kurth — an international law firm that is also tracking litigation related to the pandemic — West Virginia has seen only six suits related to the coronavirus.

At least some of those lawsuits filed in West Virginia have targeted measures Gov. Jim Justice put in place through executive orders. It is unknown how many lawsuits to date, if any, would be nullified under the bill.

Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, argued that Senate Bill 277 was overreaching and offered too broad of protections to people who may be harmed over the course of the pandemic.

“What we’re doing now is using COVID as another excuse. We’ve used COVID as an excuse to close the capitol doors,” Fluharty said. “Now we’re gonna use COVID as an excuse to close the courthouse doors for our people. It’s exactly what we’re doing here.”

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said he would have supported the bill had it offered more protections for residents in the state, rather than businesses.

“There was a COVID immunity bill that I could have supported. It would have been a fair bill. It would have been a balanced bill,” Garcia said. “It would have protected responsible businesses and would also have protected our most vulnerable citizens, our grandmothers or grandfathers.”

But House Judiciary Chair Moore Capito, R-Kanawha, said an amendment adopted Tuesday helped strike the balance that Democrats said was lacking.

The amendment changed the definition of “impacted care.” It also said that other medical treatments that were delayed could be subject to lawsuit if it had nothing to do with the coronavirus.

“Our amendment yesterday shows that bad actors aren’t going to be immunized. In fact, we altered the definition of impacted care,” Capito said. “So if there was a bad actor, we’re going to look at those circumstances and if COVID-19 didn’t have anything to do with it, that doesn’t change the lawsuit. That doesn’t change the injured party’s remedy.”

Senate Bill 277 now heads back to the upper chamber to consider changes made to the measure in the House.

Justice, Manchin Squabble Over Coronavirus Relief Revenue Provision, Income Tax Reduction Plan

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice took aim at U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin Monday over a provision in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package moving through Congress that would keep states from using that funding to offset tax revenue losses due to changes in state law.

The squabble between the two politicians comes as Justice hopes to reduce the state’s personal income tax by 60 percent for all filers, which translates to more than $1 billion loss in state revenue. Under Justice’s plan, the state would also increase consumer sales taxes, as well as taxes on cigarettes, tobacco, beer, liquor, wine and other products.

But even with roughly $900 million in proposed tax hikes under Justice’s plan, the state would be about $185 million short in revenues, which is where the federal relief funds come into the equation.

In the federal relief package passed Saturday by the U.S. Senate — known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — one provision would prevent states from using the federal relief dollars to “either directly or indirectly offset any reduction in the net tax revenue” of a state caused by a change in law.

According to an earlier version of the American Rescue Plan that passed the U.S. House of Representatives, no such provision existed that would have prevented those funds from being used in such a way.

During Justice’s virtual briefing Monday, the governor was asked about this aspect of the bill and went as far as accusing Manchin of inserting that provision himself.

“This is absolutely terrible, but what was written in the law was written in there primarily by Joe Manchin,” Justice said. “Joe Manchin is supposed to be your representative, West Virginia. And you know what Joe Manchin is doing? He’s still trying to hit at me.”

Justice then accused Manchin of inserting that provision in the bill simply to keep the governor’s income tax reduction plan from moving forward.

“When it really boils right down to it — what Joe Manchin is parading around doing is — he’s basically telling West Virginians ‘You don’t want to do this and the reason you don’t want to do this is because Jim Justice came up with this,” Justice said.

On Monday, Manchin accused Justice of attacking him and said he welcomes a conversation with the governor on how to best improve the lives of residents using the more than $2 billion in funding secured for the state through the bill.

“Policy differences do not justify personal attacks; I want to work with Gov. Justice in the best interest of our state,” Manchin said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Manchin did not respond when directly asked whether the senator was responsible for the provision in the American Rescue Plan that would keep states from using the relief funds to backfill losses from tax cuts.

In recent weeks, Justice has floated the possibility of the federal government forgiving relief money that the state has allocated toward unemployment and other pandemic-related expenses not already covered by earlier relief packages.

If that were to happen, Justice has proposed setting aside any surpluses from that hypothetical forgiveness program into a “bucket” that he has said he hopes could be used to backfill any revenue shortfalls.

But on Monday, Justice clarified his position on the matter.

“My additional rainy day bucket has nothing — and still has nothing in the world — to do with taking CARES money and putting it over here in a rainy day bucket that is for tax relief. Nothing at all. Nothing whatsoever,” Justice said.

And so far, that remains true, according to an outline of Justice’s plan that was unveiled Thursday.

But Justice also questioned why states — including West Virginia — should not be allowed to use the money in any way they see fit.

“It is our right, as other states, to draw down stimulus money that’s been given to us to pay us back for expenditures that we have expended toward COVID,” Justice said. “If we have just happened to run our states better than other states — that are run by Democrats and out of control. If, in fact, we have done that, should we not have the options to do with those monies whatever we want to do with those monies that will only help West Virginians and help us become better and bring more opportunities to us?”

The governor’s office released a draft of his income tax reduction bill Thursday afternoon. As of Monday, the measure had not been formally introduced in either the House or Senate.

House Judiciary Committee Rejects Series Of Amendments To COVID Liability Bill, Advances Measure To Floor

After more than an hour of debate, the West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would provide immunity from civil liability for people, businesses and health care providers as it pertains to the coronavirus pandemic.

During Tuesday’s committee meeting, lawmakers rejected a series of amendments to Senate Bill 277 that sought to dampen the wide effect of the bill. The bill would completely eliminate liability related to the coronavirus and offer a defense on claims being brought forth related to infections, treatment or death.

Del. Chad Lovejoy, D-Cabell, first offered an amendment that would have allowed claims against persons or entities that act “with actual malice, or a conscious, reckless and outrageous indifference to the health, safety and welfare of others.”

Lovejoy argued that he understands giving immunity to those who might be negligent, but not those who intentionally harm others. The amendment was similar to a proposed change that was offered last week by Sen. Richard Lindsay, D-Kanawha, but was ultimately rejected.

“To go beyond that and to immunize intentional harm or outrageous indifference, to the health of others, I think is bad policy,” Lovejoy said.

In the end, Lovejoy’s first amendment failed.

A second amendment brought forth by Lovejoy would have limited the definition in the bill of “impacted care” so that it would only apply to treatment related to the coronavirus and not other treatments that were delayed as a result of the pandemic. The effort was also rejected.

Lovejoy also offered an amendment that would have expired the the bill. Like his first amendment, it also echoed a change offered by Lindsay in the Senate — calling for immunity from claims to end when the state of emergency related to the coronavirus is rescinded.

Del. Steve Westfall, R-Jackson, spoke against putting an expiration date on Senate Bill 277.

“The governor called the state emergency. He’s gonna end it someday,” Westfall said. “But I’m not sure this pandemic’s ever gonna end. I think it’s gonna be a new normal.”

And like Lindsay’s similar amendment in the Senate, Lovejoy’s third amendment also failed.

Lawmakers also rejected four amendments from House Judiciary Vice Chair Tom Fast, R-Fayette, that would have narrowed the scope of immunity offered in various provisions throughout the measure.

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, offered an amendment that would have created a death benefit of up to $10,000 to be used for funeral expenses for anyone who dies as a result of an intentional act and has no claim otherwise under the bill.

Garcia’s amendment also failed.

As the committee discussed the full bill, Lovejoy made mention of two letters sent to committee members that argued against the passage of Senate Bill 277 — one from the AARP and another from the ombudsman of long-term care facilities through the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services.

The two letters argue the measure does little to protect the state’s elderly population from those who might intentionally inflict harm. Lovejoy said the bill fails to balance competing interests between protecting businesses and residents in the midst of the pandemic.

“That’s just not right. That’s not the way the law was meant to be,” Lovejoy said. “And so, because we fail to balance those competing interests of protecting our businesses — and I’m all for it — but also protecting our residents, which we do not have in this bill. I have to speak against it.”

With the Republican majority voting to advance the measure to the floor, Senate Bill 277 — unchanged from its passage in the upper chamber — now heads to the full House for consideration.

Songs Of Remembrance – Drema Ellen Slack, 85: John Denver's 'Sunshine On My Shoulders'

More than 500,000 people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 since the pandemic hit this country and the world just over a year ago. NPR is remembering some of those who lost their lives by listening to the music they loved and hearing their stories. We’re calling our tribute Songs Of Remembrance.

Since she fell in love with it in the 1970s, John Denver‘s “Sunshine On My Shoulders” was one of a handful of cheerful, heartfelt songs Gran constantly sang to loved ones. The ’70s were an especially tumultuous period for her; one of significant loss that had a profound impact on her life. This song was a gift. Though she never said it, I believe the lyrics reminded her to appreciate life’s small joys. She chose to be grateful for something as simple as the sunshine “on my shoulders” or “in my eyes” or “on the water,” and she invited the people she loved to do the same. For her, I believe the sunshine of which Denver sings is a metaphor for the small joys she cherished: reading books to her granddaughters, skiing with her son, dancing with her husband, sharing a meal with friends. For the rest of her life, she listened to John Denver. A coal miner’s daughter born and raised “up Cabin Creek,” she also treasured Denver’s song about her beloved West Virginia, where she experienced her many sunshines.

Gran sang this song to me on numerous occasions: while planting flowers in the spring; eating Ellen’s ice cream on Capitol Street; riding bikes on a Saturday afternoon. Beyond nostalgia, when I hear this song, I can picture the hours and days we shared, and I feel close to her. Also, simply the word “sunshine” makes me think of her. As I wrote in her obituary: “Our grandmother was sunshine. If you had the pleasure of knowing her, you know that she was a vibrant, generous woman full of life, smiles, and unconditional love. A humble person who wisely valued the ‘precious present.'” Regardless of life’s trials, she seized every opportunity for happiness, constantly whistling and singing her favorite songs. Perhaps you heard her sing, “Have I told you lately that I love you?” … “You are my sunshine” … “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy” … “The sun will come out tomorrow.” Now, the song makes me think of the gift of being by her side during her final week, when we had not been permitted to touch for nearly one year because of the pandemic. The first evening we spent with her, she asked to listen to music. When we played Denver’s song, she swayed her hand to the melody and joyfully sang the words “makes me happy.” Despite feeling badly, she knew little time remained and she chose to enjoy it. She repeatedly told us “I’m so lucky,” “I’m so fortunate,” and “I couldn’t have been happier in my life.” When I hear “Sunshine On My Shoulders” or sing it to the great-granddaughter she could not meet because of COVID-19, I think of my Gran and smile, for she was my sunshine with whom I shared countless small joys, and I am grateful we had each one of them. —Marissa Yingling, granddaughter