This bill directs the West Virginia Legislature to allocate surplus state funds to the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2026. The appropriation specifically supports the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation within the department, funding information technology services and special services for correctional units. The legislation uses existing unappropriated surplus money from the State Fund's General Revenue rather than creating new revenue sources. This action increases the available budget for these specific correctional facility operations during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
This bill creates a truancy pre-trial diversion program in West Virginia that allows parents, guardians, and custodians of truant children to avoid criminal conviction if they address the truancy and its underlying causes. It amends existing laws to delay sentencing for parents and guardians involved in truancy cases, giving them additional time to resolve attendance issues and access support services. The legislation also permits judges to require the Department of Human Services to provide home-based family preservation services for families facing truancy charges. Additionally, the bill removes criminal penalties for students who have reached the age of majority, focusing instead on requiring school attendance without jail time.
HB 5258 creates a 17-member Juvenile Justice Reform Oversight Committee to monitor West Virginia's juvenile justice system. The committee, including state officials, agency representatives, and community stakeholders, will track youth reoffending rates, calculate state savings from reduced out-of-home placements (averted costs), and produce annual reports with recommendations for reinvesting those savings into community-based alternatives to incarceration. It also establishes a Juvenile Justice Account in the state treasury to hold these saved funds. The bill directly affects state agencies like the Division of Juvenile Services and Department of Health and Human Resources, requiring them to provide data and participate in the oversight process.
HB 5322 prohibits sexual abuse of animals, defined as touching an animal's mouth, anus, or sex organs for sexual gratification, and bans related activities like selling animals for this purpose or allowing it on one's property. It imposes penalties ranging from up to 12 months in jail or a $2,000 fine for basic violations to up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for aggravated cases involving children or animal harm. Convicted individuals must surrender all animals, cover their care costs, and face a 5-year ban on owning animals for misdemeanors or a 15-year ban for felonies. Additionally, courts must require a psychiatric evaluation (paid by the defendant unless indigent) before granting probation for these offenses.
HB 5400 increases criminal penalties for child neglect resulting in death in West Virginia. It raises the minimum prison sentence from 3 to 10 years for offenders convicted of causing a child's death through neglect when both a fine and imprisonment are imposed. The bill also clarifies that religious healing methods meeting IRS criteria for medical expenses do not count as neglect (but this exception does not apply to professionals like teachers or doctors responsible for a child's health). Additionally, it specifies that interfering with court-ordered medical treatment is considered neglect under this law. The bill directly affects parents, guardians, custodians, and others in positions of trust responsible for a child's well-being.
HB 5198 amends West Virginia's hate crime law to explicitly include "disability" as a protected class alongside race, sex, and other characteristics. It increases penalties for crimes motivated by disability bias - such as violence or intimidation - by classifying such acts as felonies punishable by fines up to $5,000 or 10 years in prison. The bill applies to all individuals with disabilities as defined under state law (§16B-17-3), directly affecting victims of disability-targeted crimes and holding perpetrators accountable under existing hate crime provisions.
HB 5319 amends West Virginia law to prohibit camping or storing personal property (like tents, sleeping gear, or camp equipment) on specific public property without authorization. It directly affects individuals using state capitol grounds, courthouses, municipal offices, parks, streets, or trails without written permission from the relevant government body. Key provisions define "camp" and "personal property," ban unauthorized use in designated areas, and classify violations as misdemeanors punishable by fines ($25-$100), up to 30 days in jail, or both. Each day of violation counts as a separate offense, and unauthorized structures are deemed public nuisances subject to removal.
HB 5335 prohibits sexual abuse of animals in West Virginia, defining it as touching an animal’s mouth, anus, or sex organs for sexual gratification. It creates new misdemeanor and felony offenses with penalties including fines ($300-$10,000), jail time (up to 10 years), and mandatory forfeiture of the animal to the owner. Convicted individuals face minimum 5-year (misdemeanor) or 15-year (felony) bans on owning animals, plus costs for animal care and a required psychiatric evaluation. The bill directly affects anyone engaging in or facilitating sexual abuse of animals, including those who permit it on their property or involve minors.
HB 5488 creates a new criminal offense in West Virginia for recklessly harming or interfering with service animals. It directly affects service animal handlers (including people with disabilities who rely on service animals) and anyone who harms these animals while they are assisting a person with a disability or when the offender knows the animal is a service animal. The bill prohibits actions like taunting, throwing objects, or obstructing a service animal’s work, with penalties including up to one year in jail, a $500 fine, or both. It also requires offenders to pay full restitution for damages, such as the animal’s value, replacement costs, veterinary bills, and lost wages for the handler. The bill is currently pending before the House Judiciary Committee after being introduced on February 13, 2026.
HB 5496 would create a new felony offense of "child torture" in West Virginia law, targeting individuals aged 16 or older who subject children to specific severe acts. The bill defines "torture" to include 12 concrete acts like breaking limbs, inflicting prolonged pain, depriving food/water, sexual abuse, or terrorizing a child to cause significant harm. If bodily injury occurs, offenders face 10-25 years in prison with no parole before 10 years served; if no injury occurs, sentences are 10-20 years with no parole before 8 years served. This bill directly affects perpetrators of severe child abuse and would establish new criminal penalties for these specific acts under West Virginia Code §61-8D-11.
