Though the Guzman lawsuit in Raleigh County is attempting to pave the way for religious exemptions for childhood immunizations, and the Hess lawsuit in Kanawha County is attempting the opposite, West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey wants them both to be combined. In a recent filing asking for consolidation and transfer to Raleigh County, he said the lawsuits are essentially both asking the courts to answer the same question, whether or not Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s executive order – using the 2023 Religious Freedom Restoration Act as an avenue – to allow religious exemptions trumps state law. The state law mandates that school-aged children receive vaccines at certain grade levels and only allows for some medical exemptions.The issue faces both a lawsuit in Raleigh County pushing for the religious exemptions, and a lawsuit in Kanawha County questioning the constitutionality of the executive order.