By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hours before a midnight deadline, Gov. Jim Justice took action on the remaining 119 bills passed by the West Virginia Legislature, including a veto of a bill that would weaken immunization requirements for school students.
The West Virginia Constitution gives the Governor 15 days from the time the annual 60-day legislative session ends — not counting Sundays — to either sign bills, veto bills, or allow bills to become law without his signature.
The countdown began following the end of the 2024 session at midnight on March 9, requiring action on bills by midnight Wednesday. There were 119 bills awaiting action by Justice Wednesday morning.
One of those bills was House Bill 5105, eliminating the vaccine requirements for public virtual schools, private schools and parochial schools. Justice vetoed the bill after immense pressure was brought to bear from doctors, hospitals, public health advocates, pharmacists, and teachers’ unions.
“Since this legislation was passed, I have heard constant, strong opposition to this legislation from our State’s medical community,” Justice said in his veto letter. “The overwhelming majority that have voiced their opinion believe that this legislation will do irreparable harm by crippling childhood immunity to diseases such as mumps and measles.”
HB 5105 would have eliminated vaccine requirements for school students participating in one of the two statewide virtual public schools or future county-level virtual public charter schools, except when those students were participating in activities supervised by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission. It would have continued immunization requirements for virtual school students if they also participated in in-person school programs.
