West Virginia Senate passes package of bills including liability, hunting and insurance measures

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate on March 24 approved a slate of bills ranging from liability limits for recreational trails to insurance holding-company reporting rules.

Among the measures that passed on third reading were a bill restricting court-ordered payments in child abuse and neglect proceedings to Medicaid rates; the Mountain Bike Responsibility Act; authorization for use of unmanned aerial vehicles to track mortally wounded wild animals; and updates to insurance holding-company regulation that the sponsor said are needed for NAIC accreditation.

The Senate recorded the following final outcomes on March 24: a concurrence with the House amendment to Senate Bill 369 (adopted and bill passed, 34 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent); Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 128 (passed, 34 yays, 0 nays); Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 595 (passed, 33 yays, 1 nay); Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 721 (passed, 34 yays, 0 nays); and Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 800 (passed, 34 yays, 0 nays) with the Senate also voting to make SB 800 effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Senators explained or summarized several bills before final votes. A senator presenting the court-ordered services bill said it “prohibits court ordered payments in excess of the Medicaid rate or the department’s negotiated rate” in the context of child abuse and neglect proceedings and estimated “substantial potential fiscal savings in the many millions of dollars.” The Mountain Bike Responsibility Act establishes duties for trail operators and limits liability for certain inherent trail risks, and a sponsor said riders would be considered to have assumed the risks of trail riding. A sponsor of the insurance bill said it implements model provisions from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to require group capital calculations and liquidity stress-test reporting.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 369 (concur with House amendment): Motion to concur adopted; bill passed 34–0–1 (one absent). Description on record: miscellaneous rules bundle; amended state auditor rules on private trust companies; nurse rule removed from bundle.

- Senate Bill 128 (engrossed committee substitute): Passed 34–0. Sponsor described prohibition on court-ordered payments in child abuse and neglect proceedings that exceed Medicaid or department-negotiated rates; sponsor said the bill could save “many millions of dollars.”

- Senate Bill 595 (engrossed committee substitute, Mountain Bike Responsibility Act): Passed 33–1. The bill creates a new article establishing operators’ duties to maintain trails to accepted industry standards, limits liability for certain inherent trail conditions and declares riders assume known risks.

- Senate Bill 721 (engrossed committee substitute): Passed 34–0. The bill expands existing authority to allow use of unmanned aerial vehicles to track or locate mortally wounded animals.

- Senate Bill 800 (engrossed committee substitute): Passed 34–0. Sponsor said the measure updates West Virginia’s insurance holding company systems law to conform with NAIC model law; the Senate later voted to make the bill effective Jan. 1, 2026 (34–0).

The clerk was instructed to communicate passage of the approved measures to the House where applicable.

No legal challenges, implementation timelines beyond the SB 800 effective date, or detailed appropriation figures were recorded on the floor during the final passage statements compiled in the journal entry for the March 24 session.

Ending

The Senate recessed at the end of the day’s business and set committee meeting schedules for later that week. Clerk entries show the adopted measures will be transmitted to the House or otherwise processed per normal legislative procedure.