CHARLESTON, W.Va. — During its March 28 session the West Virginia Senate took final action on multiple bills. Several measures were approved on third reading; the clerk recorded the tallies noted below and the Senate directed the clerk to communicate actions to the House.

Votes at a glance

- Engrossed committee substitute for committee substitute for Senate Bill 517 (requiring medical professionals to report injuries and side effects from vaccines to the Bureau for Public Health): Passed 33 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent. Sponsor urged passage and described reporting and an obligation for the Bureau for Public Health to produce a report to the Legislature.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 576 (authorizing fixed odds wagering for dog and horse racing and establishing related funds): Passed 24 yays, 9 nays, 1 absent. The bill creates separate funds for dog and horse racing, defines allowed operators and rulemaking authority for fixed-odds wagering.

- Engrossed Senate Bill 593 (requirements for county election officials to provide cast vote records and ballot images to the Secretary of State, and public posting requirements): Passed 31 yays, 2 nays, 1 absent. The measure requires counties to provide cast vote records and ballot images organized by precinct for publication by the Secretary of State, with special handling for precincts with fewer than 10 absentee ballots to protect voter anonymity. The Senate also voted to make the bill effective July 1, 2025 (effective-date motion passed with the required supermajority).

- Engrossed committee substitute for committee substitute for Senate Bill 6626 (relating to qualifications of regional airport authority members, technical cleanup): Passed 32 yays, 1 nay, 1 absent. The bill relaxes residency requirements when openings are publicly advertised and not filled within 90 days.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 707 (providing a rate increase for Birth to 3 contracted therapists and employees): Passed 33 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent. Floor debate described a 25% rate increase for in-person services effective July 1, 2026 in the bill text; on the floor the Senate later approved a motion concerning effective date as recorded in the proceedings.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 722/730 series (short line railroad tax credits and related tax measures): Passed (one vote recorded in the sequence was 32 yays, 1 nay, 1 absent for the short line railroad tax credit bill). Provisions include a credit equal to 50% of qualified short-line maintenance expenditures subject to per-mile and per-project caps; federal credit interactions were discussed on the floor.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 728 (incremental increase to the homestead exemption and repeal of the excise levy rollback): Passed 33 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 739 (transfer-on-death deed clarifications): Passed 33 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent. The bill aligns the mental-state requirement for transfer-on-death deeds with testamentary capacity standards.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 739/7 39 (relating to recovery residences): Passed and the Senate made the bill effective from passage (vote recorded on the floor).

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 748 (Safer Communities Act — county voter ratification of safety sales/amusement taxes): Passed 25 yays, 8 nays, 1 absent. The bill permits counties (outside home-rule cities) to place a sales or amusement tax before voters to fund public safety and emergency services, subject to voter ratification and notice requirements.

- Additional bills taken up on third reading and passed by the Senate that day included measures on: hospital transparency (lie over 1 day), the West Virginia Short Line Railroad Modernization Act (passed), public waterway access (passed 30 yays, 3 nays, 1 absent), anesthesia administration requirements, prior-authorization exclusions for pharmaceuticals, pension and retirement plan changes for certain county employees, and other housekeeping and policy bills. The clerk recorded each bill's passage or referral and communicated actions to the House.

A number of bills were also referred to committees for further consideration or were read for first reading during the same session. Where the transcript recorded roll-call tallies, those counts are included above. For measures where only committee referral or first-reading action was noted, the Senate's transcript lists the referral committee but not a final floor vote on March 28.