HB 4179: To create felony charge for individuals who assault police officers or police dogs - West Virginia

Engrossed Committee Substitute → hb4179 hfat akers 2-9 adopted.htm · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was updated to reflect a committee amendment that significantly expanded the scope of protected individuals and clarified the severity of offenses. The new version adds 'battery' and 'assault' as distinct felony crimes against specific workers, whereas the previous version only covered malicious assault. Additionally, the title was revised to explicitly include the Department of Homeland Security and clarify that restitution covers veterinary bills and replacement costs for harmed or killed animals.

Scope change

The bill now covers a broader range of criminal acts (battery and assault) against a wider group of protected workers, including those under contract with state agencies, and explicitly adds the Department of Homeland Security to the list of protected entities.

SCOPE

Expanded the definition of protected individuals to explicitly include persons under contract with state agencies or political subdivisions, broadening who is covered under the new laws.

Added 'battery' and 'assault' as separate felony crimes with specific sentencing ranges, whereas the original text only defined 'malicious assault'.

Explicitly added the Department of Homeland Security to the list of entities whose trained dogs or horses are protected under the new restitution and criminal penalty provisions.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that restitution orders must cover both veterinary bills and the replacement costs of any disabled or killed animal.

Committee Substitute → Engrossed Committee Substitute · 3 edits · Feb 10, 2026

MINOR

The bill was updated from a 'Committee Substitute' to an 'Engrossed' version, incorporating minor text corrections such as fixing capitalization errors and removing redundant spacing. The substantive legal content, including the repeal of an old statute, the amendment of assault penalties, and the creation of new restitution requirements for harming law enforcement animals, remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Corrected capitalization in the bill title and section headers to ensure consistency with standard formatting.

Removed unnecessary blank lines and extra spacing from the text to improve readability.

Adjusted minor punctuation and spacing within the long bill summary to align with standard legislative style.

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to repeal an existing law regarding harm to animals used by law enforcement and to significantly expand protections for a wider range of public servants, including utility workers, correctional employees, and emergency medical service personnel. The committee substitute also clarified the definition of 'law-enforcement officer' by removing a specific inclusion for animals, as a new, separate section now addresses crimes against police dogs and horses.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from protecting only police officers and police dogs to covering a broad list of public servants, while the specific protections for police dogs were moved to a new, standalone section.

SCOPE

The repeal of the previous section (§19-20-24) removes the standalone criminal penalties for harming animals used by law enforcement, as these are now addressed in a new section.

New protections were added for utility workers, correctional employees, and emergency medical service personnel, expanding the list of protected individuals beyond government representatives, health care workers, and law enforcement.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'law-enforcement officer' was modified to remove the clause that included animals trained for law enforcement, as animal protection is now handled in a separate section.

REQUIREMENT

A new section was created to establish specific criminal penalties and mandatory restitution requirements for harming or killing trained dogs or horses used by law enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, or fire officials.

To create felony charge for individuals who assault police officers or police dogs

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