Friday, February 20, 2026
Friday, February 20, 2026

House Advances Three Election Bills

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

Senate Bill 640 would prohibit the release of a political donor’s address and employer in FOIA requests. Under this bill, FOIA requests would still allow for the name of the person and their occupation.

House Bill 5228 would change the definition of electioneering. Under this bill, electioneering is now defined as “visible display or audible dissemination of information that advocates for or against any candidate or ballot question.” This bill was reported to the floor.

In addition to the change of definition, this bill describes prohibited activities, permitting election officials and county employees to enforce election laws, and permitting said people to seek assistance from law enforcement. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, displaying a candidate’s likeness, logo, committee name, a ballot question’s number, or paraphernalia in support of a candidate.

This bill passed with a vote of 80 to 13.

House Bill 5273 would require county and municipal campaign finance activities to be published online within 48 hours of the deadline and require municipal candidates file their campaign finance reports with their respective County Clerk.

House Bill 4958 would create the Southern Coalfield Resiliency and Revitalization Program. This program would identify resources that are available to support the Southern counties and the coalfields within them; these counties include Boone, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming.

Delegate Henry C. Dillon (R – Wayne, 29) proposed an amendment that would change the name of the act and add coke-producing facilities to support the steel manufacturing industry. This amendment failed with a vote of 48 to 48.

In addition to the passage of bills, House Bill 4335, House Bill 4982, and Senate Bill 309 have completed legislative action.

Committee Meetings, Today, February 20

Committee Meetings, Monday, February 23

The House is adjourned until 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 23, 2026. 

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