Finance chair says committee will not take up bill targeting hair discrimination

The Crown Act, which was part of the West Virginia Black Policy Agenda for 2024, is not likely to become law this year after it was referred to Senate Finance over the bill's cost considerations. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

A bill that would have outlawed discrimination based on hair texture and style is not likely to become West Virginia law this year.

After referring Senate Bill 496 , the Crown Act, to the Finance Committee he chairs last week over concerns about its potential cost , Senate Finance Chairman Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said Tuesday he does not plan to have the committee take up the bill for consideration.

Tarr pointed to new fiscal notes about the bill, especially one from the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management, that indicate the legislation could have associated retroactive costs.

“The explanations on the memorandums on the fiscal notes are what you’ve really got to pay attention to with those, and they said pretty much what I said on the floor, the concerns that I had,” Tarr said.

According to the BRIM fiscal note , the true cost of the bill to the board is “unascertainable because the number of claims is unknown.” BRIM values each claim at about $100,000, the fiscal note says.

“BRIM predicts an increase in the frequency of claims filed as a result of the coverage expansion and newly established grounds for discrimination,” the fiscal note says. “While estimating an exact number of claims is difficult, an increase in cost would likely result.”

The fiscal note goes on to explain that the bill would likely “result in a premium deficiency for prior fiscal years if the legislation is applied retroactively” that would result in additional premiums to recover the additional estimated claims and claims-related expenses for prior fiscal years.”

BRIM is one of three agencies that have returned fiscal notes related to the Crown Act.

The state a ttorney general’s office anticipates the law costing $10,000 in fiscal year 2024, $5,000 in 2025 and $5,000 for the fiscal year upon full implementation.

The attorney general’s office said it’s difficult to determine the cost of the legislation. Any changes that result in more litigation where the attorney general office’s Civil Rights Division represents the Human Rights Commission would add costs to state government, it said.

“This is an unavoidable consequence of any changes in law that require education and may result in litigation,” the attorney general’s office said. “As such, cost estimates cannot be considered zero. However, given the lack of any relevant data on this at present, it is unclear whether any litigation will actually arise from this bill and, more particularly, whether the attorney general’s office will bear measurable increases as a result.”

In its fiscal note, the state Human Rights Commission said it anticipates no fiscal impact from the proposed legislation.

The Crown Act — which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair — is the objective of a national campaign aimed at ending hair discrimination. The bill was one of the requests from people who attended Black Policy Day at the Capitol earlier this session.

According to the CROWN coalition, similar legislation has become law in 23 states. Six West Virginia cities — Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, Lewisburg and Beckley — have passed local versions of the bill.

Tarr said while he does not believe anyone should be discriminated against because of their hair, he also does not believe in adding more class protections to law.

“Our Constitution, the U.S. Constitution already has that stuff in it very well,” Tarr said. “I don’t think we need to continue going down and nitpicking every little thing that we’re going to go and say this is not what we’re going to discriminate against today, and I think that’s where a lot of this mentality comes from on these bills.

“So I’m not big on creating more causes of action, because of what you just saw when I was talking about those fiscal notes, because every time we do that, it’s a big implication on taxpayers of West Virginia.”

Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, one of the legislation’s sponsors, said it was sad to see the bill die in committee, but he was not surprised to hear that the Finance Committee does not plan to take it up.

“That bill went through a very extensive, free and healthy debate in the Judiciary committee,” Caputo said. “It passed out of there. That bill passed the Senate four years ago, and through a maneuver that Sen. Tarr has a right to do, I just disagree with, he has a right to do, he found a way to get that bill up into Finance.

“And we all knew when it got there the fate of that bill, what it would be and it’s actually exactly what we expected,” Caputo said.

Caputo said he agrees with co-sponsor Sen. Charlie Trump, R-Morgan, who argued the legislation would lead to less litigation, not more, and make things better for the state of West Virginia.

“But look, it’s real,” Caputo said of hair discrimination. “People are getting discriminated against because of their natural hair, and the way they want to wear it. We’re better than that in West Virginia. No one should have to work in the back because they have dreadlocks and no one should have to work in the back because they have cornrows. That’s just hogwash to me.

“I just always took a stand — I don’t want to discriminate against anybody,” Caputo said. “Be who you want to be. Love who you want to love. Look how you want to look. I don’t care. But there are some here that just don’t feel that way, and I just think it was a sad day.”

Caputo, who does not plan to run for reelection to the Senate, said he hopes at some point the Senate will pass the Crown Act, a bill he said is very important for West Virginia.

As the senator representing Fairmont State University and West Virginia University, Caputo said he often talks with students about their reasons for leaving the state.

“When I ask them, the ones who are leaving, why they’re leaving, they just feel West Virginia is not inclusive enough, and that we still have a backwards thought about certain ways of life, and certain types of people for lack of a better term,” Caputo said. “They just feel like it’s not a welcome state, and the young people are moving on and I encourage them to stay and run for office and try to change those things.”

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