Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
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Senate Agriculture Advances Bills on Farmers, Bees, and Lab-Grown Meat

Jaidyn Carter
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Senate Agriculture Advances Bills on Farmers, Bees, and Lab-Grown Meat

The Senate Agriculture Committee met on Wednesday afternoon and advanced three bills on the Equipment Right to Repair Act, authority to regulate bees, and meat products.

Senate Bill 97 would establish the Equipment Right to Repair Act.

This bill would provide farmers and independent repair providers in West Virginia access to manuals, tools, and software to repair agricultural equipment after the warranty expires. Trade secrets would also be protected, and civil penalties would be set starting at $1,000.

The Commissioner of Agriculture would oversee all aspects of the law within the bill by ensuring compliance, enforcing penalties, resolving disputes, issuing injunctions, and setting rules for the Equipment Right to Repair Act.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 927 would clarify the authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture over bees.

The commissioner would be able to register, inspect, and regulate apiaries, bee equipment, and measure against honeybee pests. The commissioner would also inform beekeepers and anyone who keeps or manages bees and apiaries in West Virginia on beekeeping, while cooperating with other states and federal agencies.

The bill would also limit when legal actions can be brought against agriculture operations, protecting farms from nuisance claims if they comply with state and federal regulations and follow commonly accepted agriculture practices.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

Senate Bill 932 would classify cultivated meat products as an adulterated food.

The bill defines cultivated meat products as food derived by harvesting animal cells and artificially or chemically replicating those cells in a growth medium in a laboratory to produce tissue with the texture, flavor, appearance, or other aesthetic qualities or the chemical characteristics of meat.

This bill ensures that lab-grown meat is not sold or labeled in the same way as conventional meat, providing consumers with transparency about what they are buying.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Judiciary.

House Focuses on Election Bills During Debate

Soleil Woolard
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House Focuses on Election Bills During Debate

The West Virginia House of Delegates advanced several bills to the Senate, including the following:

Senate Bill 208 would exempt certain military records from FOIA requests.

Delegate Bill Ridenour (R – Jefferson, 100) said, in his experience of working in military intelligence, this bill would create more protection for the United States troops, the operations, the State of West Virginia, and the country as a whole. He said foreign adversaries gather a multitude of this data to try to pinpoint any possible weakness, and this bill would combat that.

House Bill 4568 would give a court judge the power to determine whether an abuse of process has happened in family court proceedings. In this bill, abuse of power is described as the willful and malicious intent to harass, intimidate, or influence a person apart of the court case or a witness.

House Bill 4709 would give the West Virginia legislature legal standing against state agencies/state elected officials who make or attempt to make unauthorized changes in state election laws and state rules or waive such laws or rules.

House Bill 4710 would change the limit on switching parties before an election from two months beforehand to six months. This bill would also require independent candidates to declare a party six months before an election.

In the discussion of this bill, some delegates shared concerns about this bill and restrictions that it could possibly put in place.

Delegate Sean Hornbuckle (D – Cabell, 25) said, “Independents want to be independent and be able to go right, left, or wherever they choose. This bill restricts their access to do that. People always talk about politicians just doing something because they can. We lose trust of the public when we do things like this just because we can. We need to be preserving the right to choose.”

Delegate Joe Funkhouser (R – Jefferson, 98) said election integrity is important, and this bill makes West Virginians treated equally.

Delegate Shawn Fluharty (D – Ohio, 005) said there has been a growing number of registered independents in the State, adding, “We should welcome independent thinkers to join democracy.”

Sponsor Delegate Josh Holstein (R – Boone, 032) said this bill is rather simple and thinks this is a good policy for the state of West Virginia to adopt. He also stated that while this timeline is stricter than many states, it is not the strictest.

This bill passed with a vote of 79 to 13.

In addition to the passage of bills, four amendments were proposed for House Bill 4765.

House Bill 4765 would give a pay raise to teachers, school personnel, and state police.

The four amendments included an additional 3% pay raise, 12 weeks of paid leave for childbirth or child adoption, an increase in the compensation for retirees, and a $2000 pay increase for nonuniform corrections personnel. These four amendments were ruled not germane and were not taken up for consideration.

Committee Meetings, Today, February 18

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, February 19

The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 19, 2026. 

Senate Adopts Resolution on Protecting WV Coal Jobs, Coal Power, and Coal Families

Jaidyn Carter
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Senate Adopts Resolution on Protecting WV Coal Jobs, Coal Power, and Coal Families

On Wednesday morning, the Senate passed several bills, including one that would establish the Strategic and Critical Resources Act. In addition, the Senate introduced Senate Bills 979-992 and adopted Senate Resolution 32 regarding protecting WV coal jobs, coal power, and coal families.

Senate Bill 823 would supplement the 2026 budget for the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration.

This bill would allocate $750,000 from unappropriated state funds to cover current expenses for fiscal year 2026.

Senate Bill 648 would establish the Strategic and Critical Resources Act.

This bill would set statewide rules for the development and protection of minerals and materials vital to state and national security, energy, and critical infrastructure.

This bill would limit local regulations on the extraction and facilities of strategic resources outside urban areas. Critical resources would include aluminum, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, and other federally designated materials.

Senate Bill 426 would strengthen protections for underground facilities in West Virginia.

This bill would allow the Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Board to investigate damage, assess penalties, require training, and issue liens for unpaid fines. Operators would be required to respond to One-Call notifications within 48 hours and provide accurate facility locations, or mutually agree to an extended response time.

All bills were reported to the House of Delegates for consideration.

Afternoon Meetings:

Banking and Insurance at 2 p.m. in Room 451M

Agriculture at 2 p.m. in Room 208W

Judiciary at 3 p.m. in Room 208W

Morning Meetings for Feb. 19:

Government at 9:30 a.m. in Room 208W

Education at 9:30 a.m. in Room 451M

The Senate is adjourned until Thursday, Feb. 19, at 11 a.m.

House Finance Hears Bill Amending Hope Scholarship

Cheyenne DeBolt
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House Finance Hears Bill Amending Hope Scholarship

The Finance Committee met this morning to discuss an originating bill.

The originating bill would amend the Hope Scholarship Program. Counsel explained the changes would be:

  • Setting the annual amount to a flat $5250; this removes the funding link to school aid; $250 would go to the State Treasurer for administration of the program, and Hope students would receive $5000
  • Requires participating school to be in state, if a brick-and-mortar school; In FY25, $1.7 million went to out-of-state schools; virtual-online programs are not addressed as out-of-state schools
  • Removes provision requiring parents to “afford the Hope Scholarship student opportunities for educational enrichment such as organized athletics, art, music, or literature;” parents may choose to do this, but won’t be required
  • Sets the payments for the Hope Scholarship to 4 times a year instead of 2
  • Eliminates the following qualifying expenses:
    • AP exams, college admission exams, and prep courses for AP or college admission exams
    • Tutoring services
    • After school or summer programs
    • Instruments/equipment as part of the music education course/curriculum
  • Limiting nonpublic virtual online programs to only tuition and fees for the curriculum
  • Limits transportation cost
  • Focuses on tuition, fees, and curriculum
  • Technology continues to be a qualifying expense, but the board can limit purchasing, as it is currently
  • Require students under Individualized Instructional Programs to take the statewide student growth assessment required of public-school students; cost would be a covered qualifying expense, and the data would be used as it is for public schools
  • The bill would be effective for FY28

 

House Judiciary Advances Cold Case Bill

Soleil Woolard
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House Judiciary Advances Cold Case Bill

The House Judiciary Committee advanced several bills this morning.

Judiciary

House Bill 4603 would create a diversion process to allow parents who are having their children removed from their home to be placed with a family member under guardianship. This process is only available to select child abuse and neglect cases. Cases that are not available to this process include, but are not limited to, those where a parent has subjected a child to abandonment, torture, and chronic abuse. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4656 would address absenteeism in students and shift the focus from punitive to preventative. This bill would remove having 10 or more unexcused absences as a status offense. This bill would also provide different services to prevent chronic absenteeism, such as financial help, mental health support services, or transportation to school if needed. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4799 would establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia. This task force would investigate and prosecute offenders in cold cases. The cold case task force would be authorized to cooperate with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies.  This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4842 would clarify the civil cause of action for people exposing intimate images. This civil action would be similar to the civil cause of action for people who commit sexual extortion. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 4850 would require online training to be provided for Executors/Executrixes of an Estate. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 5341 would create a domestic violence registry. This registry would include several pieces of information about the names of the people who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence. This information would include, but is not limited to, the address where the person will reside or resides at the time of registration, their Social Security number, a full-face photograph, a brief description of the crime or crimes for which the registrant was convicted, fingerprints and palm prints, and motor vehicle information. This bill was advanced to the floor.

House Bill 5401 would clarify how West Virginia voters residing overseas can vote in West Virginia elections. This bill would clearly state that any individual who is a United States citizen who is temporarily living abroad and was a West Virginian resident can vote in the state and federal elections.

House Bill 5406 would make the WV State Police Forensic Laboratory responsible for certification, standards, and administration of secondary chemical tests. The bill also makes the forensic laboratory responsible for approving the devices and methods used in preliminary breath analysis.

House Bill 5416 would give trustees and pastors the authority to make a deal with only one trustee and the pastor, whether it be for borrowing money or encumbering property.

House Bill 5444 would increase the amount of fees to be paid by parolees based on their ability to pay, which would be an increase from $40 to $50. This fee would be only for the supervision.

House Bill 5449 would repeal the Addiction Treatment Pilot Program since the pilot program no longer exists.

House Bill 5454 would clarify the committee’s oversight authority over the West Virginia Fusion Center and direct the Legislative Auditor to conduct an annual audit of the Fusion Center.

House Energy and Public Works Discuss Individual EZ-Passes

Cheyenne DeBolt
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House Energy and Public Works Discuss Individual EZ-Passes

The House Energy and Public Works Committee met this evening.

Markup & Passage

House Resolution 13 proposes approval of United States H.R. 5966, the Ohio River Restoration Program Act, to bring clean water, enhanced fish and aquatic wildlife, economic benefits, and expanded recreation opportunities to West Virginia.

Committee Hearing

House Bill 4537 requires municipalities and public service districts to determine the cost of adding potential customers to water service from the municipality and the public service district, and to apply to the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council for available funding. Additionally, the bill extends service to potential customers who have made required deposits if a grant or grants are awarded to cover the fees for the service extension.

House Bill 4563 requires EZ-Passes to be assigned to individual drivers, not to automobiles. During the discussion, many people supported the idea, but the feasibility may be complicated by how tolls are currently collected. The bill was advanced to markup and passage.

House Bill 5511 allows a lump sum payment of accrued personal leave to full-time employees of a county school board upon the end of full-time employment due to death.

House Bill 5525 establishes the Southern West Virginia Clean Water Fund Act of 2026 to enhance water quality standards, test for, and remove various contaminants. The bill also states that a survey shall be conducted to replace lead service lines within all public water systems in the counties of Boone, Fayette, Greenbrier, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming.

House HHR Advances Vape Safety Act

Soleil Woolard
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House HHR Advances Vape Safety Act

The House Health and Human Resources Committee discussed several bills.

House Bill 4517 would increase the accessibility of West Virginia’s child care tax credit for employers.  This bill was reported to the House Finance.

House Bill 4067 would make it so that any employee working 32 hours or more per week in a licensed child care center is eligible for a child care subsidy, regardless of their household income. This bill was advanced to House Finance.

House Bill 5437 would create the Vape Safety Act. This act would require vape shops to obtain a license that would cost $1,200. This raise to the fee would cover costs for the Alcohol Beverage Control commissioner. In addition to updating licensing requirements, all products sold by the shop will be required to be placed on a registry. These products will require FDA approval or pending approval to be sold in these shops. This bill was advanced to markup and passage.

House Bill 4989 would establish a cancer screening pilot program for firefighters.

House Advances Data Center Rule Bill and 18-20 Concealed Carry

Cheyenne DeBolt
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House Advances Data Center Rule Bill and 18-20 Concealed Carry

The House of Delegates passed ten bills, including the following four.

House Bill 4106 removes the licensing requirement for 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to conceal carry a deadly weapon. Proponents argued that these individuals can already carry a weapon. Currently, they aren’t able to conceal their weapons. Opponents argued that removing the licensing requirement would eliminate the training required for concealed carry. The bill advanced to the Senate.

House Bill 4464 updated the definition of emergency-related Underground Facilities Damage Prevention. The bill clarified that an emergency includes “any emergency that requires immediate correction to assure continuity of services provided by or through an underground facility.” Without the passage of this bill, “emergencies” focus on the safety of the public and operator personnel. The bill also clarifies Board responsibilities and the duties of operators of underground facilities. The bill advanced to the Senate with 51 in favor and 43 opposed.

House Bill 4983 allows the Department of Commerce to adopt legislative rules governing the certification of microgrid districts and high-impact data centers. Yesterday, the House spent time discussing amendments to the bill, which failed.

Many opponents of this bill felt that the Department of Environmental Protection should play a role in the rulemaking for the certification of these entities, given the environmental and economic consequences.

Proponents of the bill stated that because data centers are an economic opportunity, regulation should fall to the Department of Commerce. Regarding yesterday’s amendments, proponents of the bill stated that they didn’t address the bill’s actual rules. Supporters of the bill felt the amendments would add burdens to economic development and could discourage companies from bringing high-impact data centers to West Virginia.

Today, Delegate Laura Kimble (R-Harrison) stated that when House Bill 2014 passed last year, the Senate would address local control and water concerns. When the concerns weren’t addressed, it was stated that the concerns would be addressed through rulemaking. She stated that this rulemaking bill does not address what was supposed to be addressed.

“I think this will have a chilling effect on the people of West Virginia who want to stay here,” Kimble said, “I believe it’ll have a chilling effect on people who live out of state and want to come home to West Virginia.”

The bill advanced to the Senate with 78 in favor and 16 opposed.

House Bill 4573 authorizes the Department of Human Services to provide the West Virginia Department of Education and county boards of education with information on transition programs and services for foster care students after graduation, along with opportunities in education, the workforce, housing, and support services.

During committee reports, the rules were suspended to read House Bill 4712 for the first time. The bill increases the penalties for DUI causing death. The bill will be known as Bailey’s Law.

Senate Bill 208 was on second reading and advanced to third with the right to amend.

Bills introduced can be found here.
Resolutions introduced can be found here.

Committee Meetings, Today, February 17

Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, February 18

Assaulting Police Dogs Bill Advances in Senate Judiciary

Jaidyn Carter
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Assaulting Police Dogs Bill Advances in Senate Judiciary

The Senate Judiciary Committee met on Tuesday afternoon and passed two bills regarding the involuntary hospitalization of patients and assaulting police dogs.

Senate Bill 742 would revise procedures related to involuntary hospitalization in hospital settings.

This bill would permit an authorized staff physician to order a 72-hour involuntary hold if the physician determines an individual is mentally ill and likely to cause serious harm to themselves or others, without first contacting a list of enumerated individuals.

This bill is intended to extend the time frame to file a mental hygiene petition from 24 hours to 72 hours following hospitalization.

Senate Bill 200 would create felony charges for individuals who willfully cause death or injury to public safety animals.

Public Safety Animal is defined in the bill as a dog or any other animal specifically trained to assist public safety officers or persons working under the direction of, or in cooperation with, public safety officers in the performance of their official duties.

If an individual willfully causes the death of a public safety animal, they would be guilty of a felony and would be fined no less than $2,000 and no more than $5,000 or imprisoned for no less than two years and no more than 10 years.

If a person willfully causes serious physical injuries to a public safety animal, they would be guilty of a felony and would be fined no less than $1,000 and no more than $3,000 or imprisoned no less than one year and no more than five years.

This bill was past in its current for my the Senate last year, but failed to complete action in the House of Delegates.

Both bills were reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

School Nutrition Program Reform Bill Advances in Senate HHR

Jaidyn Carter
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0
School Nutrition Program Reform Bill Advances in Senate HHR

The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee advanced several bills regarding cancer prevention, school nutrition programs, foster care, and grant programs.

Senate Bill 662 would establish the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Diagnostic Colonoscopy and Treatment Pilot Program.

This program would be created within the Bureau of Public Health and would screen for and detect colorectal cancer among underserved populations.

The program includes, but isn’t limited to, the following:

  • Establishment of protocols for follow-up colonoscopies, diagnostic colonoscopies, and colorectal cancer treatment for underserved individuals who meet eligibility criteria
  • Provisions of grants to approved organizations
  • Compilation of data concerning the colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic colonoscopies, colorectal cancer treatment, and dissemination of the data to the public and any related outcome information, if available.
  • Colonoscopy services shall be provided by contracted colonoscopy sites under a Memorandum of Understanding.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

House Bill 4626 would establish a state grant program supporting clinical drug development trials for ibogaine.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of Health to administer a public-private partnership program to fund efforts seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ibogaine as a treatment for opioid use disorder and other qualifying conditions.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 745 relates to school nutrition programs and would require schools to post on their website the school’s breakfast and lunch menu, with the list of ingredients for each item on the menu.

Some of the food additives deemed as unsafe and would not be permitted as an ingredient in any meals served in a school nutrition program include:

  • Titanium dioxide.
  • Butylated hydroxytoluene
  • Butylated hydroxyanisole
  •  Tert-butylhydroquinone
  • Red Dye No. 3
  • Red Dye No. 40
  • Yellow Dye No. 5

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.

Senate Bill 763 would require all children placed into foster care to be screened for human trafficking upon entry into the foster care system by the Department of Human Services.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

Senate Bill 773 would require the Secretary of the Department of Health to propose legislative rules to include alpha-gal syndrome on the list of diseases required to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a tick-borne condition that could cause allergic reactions to red meat and would become a reportable disease in West Virginia. This bill allows state health officials to track cases and share data with the CDC.

The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.

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