This afternoon, the Senate met and completed legislative action on several bills, including Senate Bill 502, which would establish the Women’s Collegiate Sports Protection Act.
Senate Bill 947 would allow homeless individuals under the age of 18 to receive a free certified copy of their West Virginia birth certificate.
Currently, the state charges a fee generally up to $10 per copy, or up to $12 at the discretion of the commissioner, for certified copies of vital records such as birth certificates.
Under the bill, the State Registrar would be required to provide a certified copy of a birth certificate at no cost to an individual under 18 years old who can provide satisfactory proof of homelessness. The registrar would also be required to keep a record of all certificates issued under this provision.
The bill completed legislative action and heads to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 906 would allow the lawful prescription, distribution, and marketing of certain psilocybin-based medications in West Virginia if they are approved at the federal level.
Currently, psilocybin is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under state law, meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.
This bill would create an exception to that classification. Under the proposal, if a pharmaceutical product containing crystalline polymorph psilocybin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and rescheduled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), it could legally be prescribed, distributed, and marketed in West Virginia.
The bill completed legislative action and heads to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 502 would create the Women’s Collegiate Sports Protection Act, aimed at providing long-term financial support for women’s collegiate Olympic sports programs at certain public universities in West Virginia.
The bill would allow public colleges or universities in the state that compete in NCAA Division I athletics to establish a permanent women’s athletic endowment. The principal of the endowment could not be spent, and only the investment earnings could be used to support women’s sports programs.
The bill completed legislative action and heads to the governor’s desk.
Update:
The Senate gathered following a recess and continued to complete legislative action on several bills.
Senate Bill 197 would update West Virginia’s current law on child abuse by expanding the criminal offense of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust to include attempted acts in addition to completed acts.
Under current law, it is a felony for a parent, guardian, custodian, or person in a position of trust to engage in sexual exploitation, sexual intercourse, sexual intrusion, or sexual contact with a child under their care or control.
The bill clarifies that the attempt alone of these acts would also constitute a criminal offense.
If the individual attempts to engage in these acts, they would be guilty of a felony punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, with possible fines ranging from $500 to $5,000. This would apply regardless of whether the child appeared to consent or whether physical or emotional injury is evident.
The bill completed legislative action and is sent to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 4412 would require commercial websites and applications that contain a substantial amount of sexual material harmful to minors to verify that users are at least 18 years of age before allowing access to the content.
The bill establishes civil liability for companies that fail to implement age verification and allow minors to access the material.
The bill defines a substantial portion as more than one-third of a website or application’s content as sexual material harmful to minors. The bill requires age verification through methods such as digital identification, government-issued identification, or commercially reasonable systems that confirm a user’s age.
House Bill 5101 would establish the Joanna Phillips Domestic Violence Prevention Act.
The bill increases penalties for certain acts of violence, including strangulation, suffocation, or asphyxiation committed against a family or household member. The offense would be punishable by two to ten years in prison.
The bill also increases fines for domestic battery and domestic assault and strengthens penalties for repeat offenders.
A third or subsequent domestic violence offense within 20 years could be charged as a felony punishable by two to ten years in prison and fines up to $5,000.
The bill completed legislative action and heads to the governor’s desk.
UPDATE:
In the Senate’s last act of the night, the body receded from its locality pay amendment to House Bill 4765, the teacher/school service personnel/State Police standalone pay raise, in a 33-1 vote. The bill has now completed legislative action and heads to the Governor’s desk.
303 bills completed legislative action during the 2026 Regular Session.
The Senate has adjourned Sine Die
