The West Virginia Senate Government Organization Committee advanced a group of House bills to the full Senate by voice votes, reporting each with the committees recommendation. The committee moved quickly through a packed agenda, approving a mix of administrative, regulatory and public-safety measures.

Votes at a glance

- House Bill 2002 (permitting dashboard): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The bill would require a centralized online permitting "dashboard" administered by the Department of Administration, to be fully implemented by Jan. 1, 2027. Participating state agencies listed in committee include the Department of Commerce, Department of Environmental Health Services, Office of Environmental Protection, Department of Revenue (excluding lottery), Lottery Commission, Division of Financial Institutions, Department of Tourism, Department of Transportation (excluding DMV), and the Secretary of State. The dashboard must be searchable, provide status updates and allow expedited processing for a fee; the bill specifies fee refunds if agencies miss processing deadlines, and exempts applicants' proprietary information from public disclosure. Motion to report moved by the vice chair and adopted by voice vote.

- House Bill 3342 (financial services and firearm businesses): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The bill would prohibit financial institutions from refusing to provide services to a defined "firearm business" or firearm trade association solely because of the business's lawful firearm activities; it allows exceptions for compliance with law or directives from regulators. The bill authorizes civil actions and penalties for violations and empowers the attorney general to seek injunctive relief; it sets a two-year statute of limitations for claims. Motion to report moved by the vice chair and adopted by voice vote.

- House Bill 3456 (Stevens Correctional Center transfer): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The bill authorizes transfer of Stevens Correctional Center from the McDowell County Commission to the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and transfers facility employees to the state DCR. Committee counsel said this completes a long-running operational transfer; the bill passed the House unanimously and was reported from committee by voice vote.

- House Bill 2484 (fire department probationary period): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The bill reconciles conflicting code sections by setting the probationary period for appointments to paid fire departments at one year, amending section 8-15-20 to align with the provision in 8-15-16. Motion to report moved by the vice chair and adopted by voice vote.

- House Bill 3503 (commercial horticulture and Water Pollution Control Act): Reported to the full Senate but first referred under double committee reference to Judiciary. The engrossed version would prohibit counties, municipalities or political subdivisions from regulating commercial horticulture activities within the subject matter of the Water Pollution Control Act and would bar local causes of action against commercial horticulture operations that are in material compliance with that Act. Committee counsel said the provision applies to county and municipal ordinances and does not reach private subdivision covenants. Motion carried with a recommendation to refer first to Judiciary.

- House Bill 3145 (real estate licensing; notice of agency): Reported to the full Senate as amended and first referred to Judiciary. Committee adopted a striking-and-insert amendment that removed the requirement that agency/consumer documents be signed on first contact, allowing licensees to answer simple questions without creating a client relationship. Motion carried by voice vote.

- House Bill 2866 (municipal fire service fee in first-due areas): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass as amended. The committee adopted a strike-and-insert amendment adding protest procedures and requiring intergovernmental agreements before a municipality imposes a fire service fee in a first-due area when the county already imposes a fee. Delegate Adam Berghammer, the lead sponsor, said stakeholders had negotiated the language and that "I feel like we've kind of threaded the needle, here in that, bargaining on both sides." The committee adopted a technical amendment to clarify that petition or voting language should apply to "residents of the affected area of such county." The striking-and-insert amendment as amended was adopted and the bill reported.

- House Bill 3017 (vote-tabulator inspection and audit): Reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The bill requires county commissions to inspect precinct vote-tabulating equipment no later than one week before in-person voting begins to ensure equipment is independent and not connected to the Internet, referencing the code provision cited in the bill ("section 3-4a-9 subsection 15"). The secretary of state would conduct a pre-election audit no later than 14 days before election day of at least 10% of precinct tabulators in at least five counties chosen at random and publish an audit report. Any noncompliant equipment would be barred from use until corrected. Senator Summers described the measure as intended to bolster public trust in election security, saying it "was trying to create public, additional public trust" and to ensure equipment is not connected to the Internet.

Committee procedure and outcomes

Most bills were advanced by a motion from the vice chair and adopted by voice vote; the committee frequently recorded "the ayes have it" rather than a roll-call tally. Several bills were reported to the full Senate with the additional step of first referring them under their original double committee references (notably HB 3503 and HB 3145 to Judiciary). The transcript shows no roll-call vote counts; outcomes are recorded as voice votes with motions declared adopted.

What to watch next

All reported bills will be transmitted to the full Senate for scheduling on the Senate calendar. Bills with double committee references will proceed first to the named committee(s). The permitting dashboard (HB 2002) and election-equipment inspection (HB 3017) include implementation timelines and reporting requirements that will be relevant to oversight hearings if the measures advance.