HB 4755 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Adding Aggravated Vehicular Homicide to the list of qualifying offenses

HB 4755 adds "aggravated vehicular homicide" (defined in §17C-5-1(c)) to West Virginia's list of offenses that trigger enhanced sentencing for repeat offenders. This change directly affects individuals convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide who have prior qualifying offenses under the state's recidivism laws. The bill amends Section 61-11-18 of the West Virginia Code to include this offense, meaning a second or third conviction for this crime could result in harsher penalties if the offender has previous serious convictions. The law focuses on increasing penalties for repeat offenders in cases involving severe DUI-related fatalities.
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
Aug 2026
Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Signed Aug 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

hb4755 s jud amt _1 3-9 adopted.htm hb4755 hfat akers 2-9 adopted.htm · 1 edit
MINOR
The bill's title was amended to reflect a change in the list of qualifying offenses for enhanced sentencing. Specifically, the phrase 'obstructing law enforcement, fire personnel, and emergency medical personnel causing death' was replaced with the shorter phrase 'obstructing causing death'. This change significantly narrows the scope of the bill by removing protections for law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical personnel when they are obstructed, while retaining a general provision for obstruction causing death.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed by removing specific protections for law enforcement, fire personnel, and emergency medical personnel from the list of qualifying offenses for enhanced sentencing.
ELIGIBILITY

The list of qualifying offenses for enhanced sentencing was modified to remove specific mentions of obstructing law enforcement, fire personnel, and emergency medical personnel, replacing them with a general reference to 'obstructing causing death'. This change alters the eligibility criteria for repeat offenders by excluding these specific groups from the enhanced penalty provisions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 9, 2026

How they voted

330
Passed
Total votes 33
Mar 12, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
31 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
40
Key actions
9
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 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 688)
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 488)
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass, with title amendment
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 59)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
By substitute, do pass
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
To House Courts
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors

Sponsors