HB 5323 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to indexing of license and stamp fees

HB 5323 amends West Virginia law to require that future increases to wildlife license and stamp fees (e.g., hunting or fishing permits) be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for "All Items" published by the U.S. Department of Labor. The bill specifies that any fee adjustments must be rounded down to the nearest dollar, and explicitly prohibits fee increases based on CPI after January 1, 2021. This directly affects individuals and businesses purchasing wildlife licenses or stamps in West Virginia. The change ensures fee adjustments automatically reflect inflation but limits the mechanism to apply only to fees set before 2021.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Signed Jun 29, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed Version Enrolled Version · 4 edits · Apr 1, 2026
MODERATE
The bill text was converted from an 'Engrossed' draft to the final 'Enrolled' version ready for the Governor's signature. The core policy regarding the indexing of wildlife license fees remained unchanged, but the text was finalized by adding official certification signatures from the Clerks, the Speaker, and the President, and updating the effective date to 90 days after passage (June 10, 2026).
Scope change
The scope of the law itself did not change; only the procedural status of the document was updated to reflect final passage.
TIMELINE

The effective date was updated to '90 days from passage (June 10, 2026)' to reflect the final passage date.

TECHNICAL

Added certification language and signature lines for the Clerks of the House and Senate to verify the bill is correctly enrolled.

Added signature lines for the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate to sign the enrolled bill.

Removed committee referral notes and draft-specific headers found in the Engrossed version.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 12, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

285
Passed
Total votes 33
Mar 12, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
26 Yea 5 Nay
83% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
32
Key actions
7
Committee
5
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 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 505)
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 304)
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Do pass
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors