CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia House of Delegates passed 19 bills today, but most of the four-hour floor session was spent debating amendments to Senate Bill 460, which modifies the state’s immunization requirements.
The House Health and Human Resources Committee introduced a substitute version of the bill, strengthening medical exemptions for vaccinations.
Under the proposal, licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants would be allowed to provide written exemptions for children if they determine a specific immunization could be harmful to the child’s health.
Several amendments were proposed to the committee’s version of the bill, but only one was adopted.
Proposed but Rejected Amendments:
- HFA Canterbury: Sought to remove chickenpox and hepatitis B from the list of required immunizations.
- HFA Fehrenbacher: Required exemption providers to be licensed in West Virginia, have an established in-person relationship with the child, and prohibited telehealth exemptions. It also allowed licensing boards to take action if exemptions were misused.
- HFA Ferrell: Aimed to limit exemptions to maintain a 95% herd immunity threshold.
- HFA Kimble: Proposed eliminating immunization requirements for school attendance in West Virginia.
- HFA White: Sought to introduce religious and philosophical exemptions, prevent exclusion from extracurricular activities based on immunization status, and allow civil action over immunization-related exclusions.
- HFA Coop-Gonzalez: Attempted to restore the bill’s original language as proposed by the governor.
The only amendment adopted was HFA Green, which added a religious exemption while allowing private and parochial schools to set their own immunization policies.
A competing amendment, HFA Anders, aimed to revert the bill to the Senate’s version but was not considered after the adoption of the House committee substitute.
As it stands, Senate Bill 460 now provides medical exemptions for required immunizations when a licensed provider issues a written statement citing health concerns.
The bill also prohibits disciplinary action against providers issuing exemptions in good faith and mandates that all exemptions be reported.
The amended version adds a religious exemption and ensures that children cannot be excluded from extracurricular activities based on their immunization status.
The bill is scheduled for a final passage vote on Monday, March 24. The House will reconvene at 11 a.m. that day.
