HB 4986 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to providing additional ground for abandonment finding in an adoption proceeding

HB 4986 amends West Virginia law to clarify when parental abandonment is presumed, especially for incarcerated parents. It states that abandonment is presumed when a parent is jailed for a significant portion of the child's minority (considering the child's age and need for stability) or for serious crimes like sexual assault, murder, or violent offenses. The bill also requires child welfare agencies to seek termination of parental rights when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months, or when a court finds the child abandoned, abused, or when a parent committed specific violent or sexual crimes against the child. This directly affects parents facing incarceration for certain offenses and children in foster care or abuse cases.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 30, 2026 Last action Mar 5, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Committee Substitute → hb4986 hfat akers 3-3 adopted.htm · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was amended to update the title to more accurately reflect the specific legal standards and factors required for finding parental abandonment when a parent is incarcerated. The substantive text of the bill, which defines abandonment and lists factors for courts to consider, remains unchanged.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's application did not change; only the descriptive title was modified to better align with the existing statutory language.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title was rewritten to explicitly detail the legal requirements for finding abandonment in cases involving incarcerated parents, including the need for clear and convincing evidence and specific factors for court consideration.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

91–0

Passed · 8 other

Total votes 99

Mar 4, 2026

D Democratic9

8 Yea 1

88% Yea

R Republican90

83 Yea 7

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 5, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House (Roll No. 292)

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

By substitute, do pass

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

To House Judiciary

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

lower

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors