HB 4857 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Increasing penalty for transporting telecommunicating devices into jails.

HB 4857 increases penalties for transporting telecommunication devices (like cell phones) into West Virginia correctional facilities. It directly affects visitors, staff, or others attempting to bring such devices into jails or state correctional facilities without authorization. The bill makes it a felony to transport devices onto facility grounds (fines of $1,000-$5,000 or 2-10 years imprisonment) and a misdemeanor to knowingly bring them into restricted areas without approval (fines of $100-$500 or up to 1 year in jail). These provisions aim to prevent unauthorized communication devices from entering secure facilities.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action Jan 28, 2026
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
0
Committee
2
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
To House Judiciary
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Joe Funkhouser
Joe Funkhouser
RRepublican
WV
98