HB 4468 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to confidentiality of court files and law-enforcement records

HB 4468 seeks to repeal Section 61-8B-19 of the West Virginia Code, which currently sets rules for keeping court files and law-enforcement records confidential. This bill would remove the existing legal requirements governing how these records must be handled and protected. It directly affects West Virginia courts and law enforcement agencies, which currently follow these confidentiality rules. The bill does not propose new rules for confidentiality but would eliminate the current statutory framework.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Feb 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute Engrossed Committee Substitute · 3 edits · Feb 10, 2026
MINOR
The bill was updated to its final 'Engrossed' version, incorporating a specific date change from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2026. This adjustment likely aligns the confidentiality protections for victims with a future legislative session or specific court rule implementation deadline.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on protecting victim names and addresses in criminal complaints, but the effective dates for these protections have been extended.
TIMELINE

The date for victim name/address redactions in court decisions was changed from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2026.

The deadline for the Supreme Court to promulgate necessary rules was changed from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated to reflect its status as the 'Engrossed Committee Substitute' rather than the previous 'Committee Substitute' version.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

950
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 99
Feb 10, 2026
D Democratic9
9 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican90
86 Yea 4
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
2
Committee
6
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 65)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
By substitute, do pass
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
To House Courts
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors