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Senate concurs in multiple House amendments, passes a string of bills including budget and utility coordination measures
Summary
In a series of concurrence motions and passage votes, the West Virginia Senate approved the budget amendment, utility/road coordination rule, and numerous other bills. Several measures were made effective immediately or scheduled to take effect July 1, 2025.
The West Virginia Senate on the floor concurred in multiple House amendments and passed a series of bills including the budget amendment (House Bill 2026), a utility work and road paving coordination measure (Senate Bill 1), and other bills addressing rail modernization, substance use disorder testing, executive branch reorganization and several appropriation and criminal‑law measures.
Senator from Lewis (name not specified) moved concurrence on many of the House amendments before the Senate and spoke to the changes in each case; the clerk then reported recorded votes for final passage or concurrence. The chamber adopted the amendments and passed the listed bills by the recorded tallies shown below.
Votes at a glance (selected items from the transcript):
- House Bill 2026 (budget bill): Senate concurred in House amendments; final passage recorded 31 yays, 1 nay, 2 absent. The Senate later voted to make the bill effective from passage by a vote of 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent.
- Senate Bill 1 (utility work and road paving coordination): Senate concurred in the House amendment that requires utilities to submit a two‑year schedule of projects to the Department of Highways and adds reporting penalties; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent.
- Senate Bill 722 (West Virginia Short Line Railroad Modernization Act): Senate concurred in the House amendment clarifying the sunset date; final passage recorded 31 yays, 1 nay, 2 absent.
- Senate Bill 939 (testing guidelines for medication‑assisted treatment facilities): Senate amended the House amendment and concurred; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent. The Senate also voted to make the bill effective from passage (32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent).
- House Bill 2008 and House Bill 2009 (executive branch reorganizations): The Senate concurred in House amendments to reorganization measures; each passed the Senate and both were later set to take effect July 1, 2025 (effective‑vote tallies reported as 30 ayes, 2 nays, 2 absent for the enactment votes recorded on the floor).
- House Bill 2011 (supplemental appropriation authority): The Senate concurred in the House amendment to the Senate amendment; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent, and the Senate declared the bill effective from passage.
- House Bill 2434 ("Stop Squatters Act"): The House amendment was concurred in by the Senate; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent.
- House Bill 2871 (negligent homicide amendment): The Senate concurred in the House amendment; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent.
- House Bill 2960 (allows Division of Highways to contract snow removal on specified secondary roads): The Senate concurred and passed the amendment; final passage recorded 32 yays, 0 nays, 2 absent.
Most motions to concur were presented by the senator representing Lewis (Senator from Lewis), who explained the scope of the House amendments before the roll calls. Where the transcript reported title amendments, the chamber adopted those by voice vote or unanimous consent before recorded passage votes.
For the bills above, the Senate’s actions were primarily concurrence in House amendments or adoption of House amendments to Senate language; the transcript records vote tallies and the presiding officer’s declarations of passage.
