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Progress Report 2025 Legislative Review
MEGAN BEVINS & KENZIE DYE
The West Virginia State Legislature began its 60-day session on February 12 with a new governor and senate president. Aside from the commissioner of agriculture, all constitutional officers— treasurer, attorney general, auditor and secretary of state— are newly elected.
The House of Delegates overhauled its legislative process this year by reducing its standing committees to six, each with three specialized subcommittees except Finance, which has four. Previously, bills were introduced, sent to a committee and— if approved by the chair— heard, amended, debated and voted on in a single meeting before advancing.
Now, bills are first referred to a specialized subcommittee. On day one, they are presented and discussed with stakeholder input. On day two, amendments are considered, and the bill is debated and voted on. If passed, it moves to the full committee for the same two-day process before heading to the House floor. To accommodate the expanded schedule, committees or subcommittees meet daily for two hours. Meanwhile, the Senate will keep its current process.
The 2025 session wrapped up on April 12, completing action on 247 of the 2,460 bills introduced. In this legislative review, West Virginia Executive looks at some of the House bills( HB) and Senate bills( SB) that were under consideration this session and how they would affect West Virginia’ s developmental, health care and financial landscapes.
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