Senate committee members voted to report originating Senate Concurrent Resolution 1 to the full Senate with the recommendation that the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study West Virginia's alcohol and liquor regulatory framework and report back to the 2026 legislative session.

The resolution, explained in committee by committee counsel, asks the joint committee to evaluate the current regulatory framework, administrative efficiency, and possible modernization measures. Committee members said parts of the code date to the 1930s and that a substantive update has not occurred since 1984 in ways that make the text hard to read and apply.

Counsel told members the study would examine how state laws and permitting operate across roughly 98 districts and assess whether the regulatory structure impedes business operations or public transparency. The resolution requests that the joint committee's study findings, conclusions and any draft legislation be reported to the regular 2026 legislative session and that expenses for the study be paid from legislative appropriations to the joint committee on government finance.

Senators who spoke during debate framed the resolution as a transparency and clarity effort rather than an explicit attempt to broaden alcohol sales. The senator from Jefferson said the current statutes contain many nested exceptions that make the code difficult to follow and expressed support for rewriting and reorganizing the law so businesses and regulators can understand it.

A junior senator questioned whether the study's likely effect might be to expand access to liquor; that senator said they hoped that would not be the outcome and sought clarification that the study's purpose was to reduce confusion in the statutes. Committee counsel and other members repeatedly described the resolution as open-ended and focused on evaluating the framework and administrative efficiency.

A committee member also noted that effecting certain substantive changes could require a constitutional amendment because the West Virginia Constitution contains provisions limiting the sale of intoxicating beverages. Counsel identified the last major change to drinking-age-related code provisions as 1984 and said earlier provisions date to the 1930s.

On a motion from the vice chair, the committee voted to report originating resolution number 1 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it be adopted. The committee chair declared the motion adopted and the resolution agreed to; the resolution now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.