Call to Action on WV Courts Bill and Crown Act

The West Virginia Legislative Session ends on March 7, so that means things are really heating up. There’s much you can do to be #WVProDemocracy.

For one:
8:30 a.m. Thursday, February 27
Public Hearing on SB 275
before the House Judiciary Committee in the House Chamber
at the WV State Capitol. 

If you can please attend this public hearing on SB 275, which would expand state government with a costly intermediate court that West Virginia does not need.

Prior to and at the public hearing, it is critical that committee members hear from as many people as possible regarding the programs and services that the state needs to be funding instead. 

You can use this link to quickly and easily take e-action to tell legislators that the money that would be wasted on an unnecessary intermediate court is better spent on things West Virginia needs—road repairs, better schools, job training for workers, broadband access, senior and veterans services, food programs and pantries so no West Virginian is hungry, and more. We shouldn’t be wasting millions to help out-of-state, corporate special interests line their pockets at the expense of West Virginia taxpayers. Learn more about SB 275 here.

HB 4508, The Crown Act, would prohibit discrimination based on hair traits commonly associated with one’s race, such as texture, braids, and twists.

Our Friends at Our Future WV, CARE and ACLU of WV have been working tirelessly to get this bill onto the Senate Floor, where it now is! Please help get this bill passed: contact your Senators to urge them to support The Crown Act.

Find a list of Senators and their contact information here.

Hair discrimination often appears in dress codes; people have been asked to change their hair styles for jobs, students have been forced to shave their heads to participate in sports, and this is still completely legal in most states, including WV. Passing The Crown Act would put an end to hair discrimination in WV.

Of course, thanks to our coalition work with WV Citizens for Clean Elections and the WV Environmental Council we are keeping our eyes on several others bills. There are a couple really bad ones that we need to be ready to counter at any moment. Make sure you are signed up for E-Council’s action alerts here. Ditto for WVCCE, here.