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
- Sub. Com. on Homeland Security following floor session in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Courts following Homeland Security in Room 410M
- Education at 1 p.m. in Room 432M
- Government Organization at 1 p.m. in Room 215E
- Energy & Public Works at 3 p.m. in Room 410M
- Health & Human Resources at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E
- Sub. Com. on Public Health at 4:30 p.m. in Room 215E
Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, February 19
- Finance at 9 a.m. in Room 460M
- Judiciary at 9 a.m. in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Legal Services at 9:45 a.m. in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Homeland Security at 10 a.m. in Room 410M
- Sub. Com. on Courts at 10:15 a.m. in Room 410M
- Rules at 10:45 a.m. in Speaker’s Conference Room 218M
- Education at 1 p.m. in Room 432M
- Government Organization at 1 p.m. in Room 215E
- Sub. Com. on Banking and Insurance at 1 p.m. in Room 460M
- Energy & Public Works at 3 p.m. in Room 410M
- Health & Human Resources at 3:30 p.m. in Room 215E
The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Thursday, February 19, 2026.Â
