To allow youth and handicapped hunters to harvest a buck deer or doe during youth/handicapped special hunts
HB 4176 allows youth hunters (ages 12-17) and individuals holding a Class Q special hunting permit to harvest one antlered deer during West Virginia's designated "Special Youth Deer Season." This change directly affects young hunters and disabled hunters with Class Q permits, expanding their hunting opportunities during this specific season. Any deer taken under this provision counts toward the regular firearms deer hunting season bag limit. The bill explicitly excludes Class XS license holders from these privileges.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Signed Jun 29, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Committee Substitute
→
Engrossed Committee Substitute
·
3 edits
·
Mar 13, 2026
MINOR
The bill text was updated to reflect its progression from a Committee Substitute to an Engrossed Committee Substitute version. The substantive policy language regarding the removal of Class XS licensees from youth deer season privileges remains unchanged. The primary differences are technical, including the addition of a status header, the removal of a summary note, and the reordering of version links.
Scope change
No change to the bill's scope or applicability; the text now reflects the Engrossed Committee Substitute status.
TECHNICAL
Added an 'ENGROSSED' status header and updated the version history to list the Engrossed Committee Substitute as the current version.
Removed a summary note explaining the bill's purpose and instructions on how to read the text.
Reordered the list of available bill versions to prioritize the Engrossed Committee Substitute.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026
How they voted
33–0
Passed
Total votes 33
Mar 13, 2026
D
Democratic2
100% Yea
R
Republican31
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
33
Key actions
7
Committee
7
Apr 1, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal
upper
Mar 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 531)
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Committee
To Natural Resources
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 283)
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
By substitute, do pass
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
To House Agriculture, Commerce and Tourism
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
lower
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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