WV House members criticize running clock out on Raylee’s Law, Speaker Hanshaw offers no explanation

At 11:57 p.m. on Saturday, House members had to push their button to vote on Raylee’s Law, a high-profile measure this session aimed at preventing child abuse in West Virginia. 

The House of Delegates started debating the bill around 11 p.m. after they’d come in that morning and the bill was in their possession. When they finally passed the legislation that night, time had run out for it to make it to the governor’s desk.

Ann Ali, House Communications Director, said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw wasn’t available for comment Monday to explain why the House waited to consider the legislation in the final hour of the session. 

Del. Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, tried around 10:30 p.m. to get it up for a vote sooner, but his motion failed in a close vote of 47-49 with Hanshaw supporting him. When the clock struck midnight and lawmakers adjourned sine die, Pritt saw colleagues around him high-fiving and laughing. He sat at his desk and cried.

“If they had to see a child walk into their classroom covered in bruises, scared out of their wits, they would understand what’s at stake, and they don’t. I don’t know how you teach someone empathy,” said Pritt, a public school teacher. “I was willing to risk every title, everything I had for this, it’s that important … I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people Saturday night.”

The measure would pause a parent’s request to remove their child from public school and homeschool if there’s an active abuse and neglect investigation in the home. Child Protective Services would have to complete the investigation within 10 days. 

The legislation is named for Raylee Browning, an 8-year-old girl who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 after her teachers notified CPS of potential abuse, prompting her abusers to move her to homeschooling. Pritt noted that Raylee died in his town, motivating him to advocate for the bill.

“We know for a fact the bill was in the House’s possession at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Instead of running the bipartisan legislation, which came over to us from the Senate and had previously passed the House on two occasions, House leadership decided to sit on the bill all day,” said Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who has for years sponsored Raylee’s Law. “They waited until the final hour to bring it out knowing it had no chance of passage. There is quite frankly no excuse for this conduct. As I said that night, it is a ‘disgusting government,’ and I stand fully behind that statement.”

The House has passed versions of Raylee’s Law in 2024 and 2025.

Del. Andy Shamblin, R-Kanawha, a public school teacher, tried to help Pritt get this year’s version of Raylee’s Law up for a vote earlier Saturday. 

“I was very, very disappointed in the outcome. I feel like the system failed Raylee, CPS failed Raylee and we failed,” Shamblin said. 

He continued, “As a teacher, I’ve seen abuse, suspected abuse … and I’ve seen kids fall through the cracks in the system. We need to do better. We need to do better with CPS, and we need to always have as many eyes as possible on children who are living in these sorts of circumstances.”

In a news release on Monday, the West Virginia Democratic Party said, “Republican leadership in the West Virginia House of Delegates slow-walked debate and ran out the clock to prevent the bill from passing.”

“Watching Republican delegates slow roll their own legislation in an effort to kill Raylee’s Law — and protecting child abusers procedurally — was frustrating to say the least, but it was incredibly indicative of who they are at their core,” said State Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin, who is also a member of the House.

‘Aggravating and disheartening’ — a chaotic final hour in the House

The Senate approved Raylee’s Law late Friday night, overriding Senate President Randy Smith to do so. Senate Communications Director Jacque Bland told West Virginia Watch that she confirmed with the Senate Clerk that the bill was sent to the House by Saturday morning for consideration.

“I supported the Senate version of Raylee’s Law because I believe we have a duty to close loopholes that allow child abusers to hide abuse. Our priority should be simple: children should remain visible and protected, and we should never allow gaps in the law that let abuse go unseen,” said Del. Bill Flanigan, R-Ohio.

Efforts started Saturday night on the House floor to postpone a vote on Raylee’s Law, Del. Jordan Bridges, R-Logan, noted. Bridges serves as assistant majority whip. 

“I can’t say this is what was going on, because I’m not in their heads, but inside my brain, looking out at everybody else, I’m thinking, ‘Why are y’all asking these dumb questions repeatedly?’ said Bridges, who voted with Pritt to get the bill up for a vote earlier. “I can’t get behind dirty politics like that.”

“I believe if you want to homeschool, if you want to do the Hope Scholarship, if you want to go to a private school, it does not matter to me. But I think as long as there are safeguards,” he continued. “There was a lot that went on that night. To be honest with you … it was just very aggravating and disheartening.”

Then, once the House took up the bill, it had numerous amendments to consider by Del. Chris Anders, R-Berkeley; Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis; Del. Henry Dillon, R-Wayne; Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison; and Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer. 

Pritt described it as “Christmas-treeing the bill” coupled with filibustering to slow down the vote process. 

It set off a chaotic hour of motions, speeches and questions from members trying to figure out what was going on.

Burkhammer opposed the language in Raylee’s Law, arguing that, as written, it wouldn’t “save one single child.” 

“You’re trying to attack homeschoolers,” Burkhammer said. “I don’t care what time it is. Our job is to write good law.”

His amendment would have allowed school superintendents to directly report suspected abuse to CPS and required that the reports could not be screened out. It also required CPS to investigate the suspected abuse and neglect report within 24 hours. 

Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, supported Burkhammer’s amendment and voted with Pritt to get the bill up for a vote sooner in the evening. 

“I was hopeful that this serious need would be addressed this year. An amendment was offered that would have strengthened our ability to protect children,” Pinson said. “By creating a clear pathway for superintendents to report suspected abuse without the risk of the report being screened out or overlooked, we would add an important layer of protection for vulnerable children — one that could potentially save a child’s life.”

Lawmakers passed the bill with Burkhammer’s amendment with a vote of 94-1 at the end of the night.

Pritt said had the House considered Burkhammer’s amendment earlier Saturday, “I think the bill would be sitting on the governor’s desk right now.”

Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, pointed out that the House could have voted for the bill ahead of Saturday. The House Education Committee signed off on Raylee’s Law on March 2, but House members declined to take it up for a vote by the Crossover Day deadline two days later.

“The timing shows there was never a serious appetite to get it passed. Members can say what they want,” he said. “It’s not a matter of if, but when this will happen again. The Legislature failed that kid.”