West Virginia Senate passes education, licensing and business bills; adopts memorial and honors corrections workers

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate on Feb. 26 approved several bills affecting school health protocols, professional licensing and business classifications while adopting resolutions honoring corrections workers and memorializing a longtime Senate staff member.

The chamber passed the Glucagon for Schools Act (Senate Bill 92), measures extending and clarifying licensing and registration timelines for pharmacies and select health professions, and a proposal declaring firearm sales and related businesses as essential during declared emergencies. Senators also adopted Senate Resolution 12 designating Feb. 26, 2025, as Corrections Day and Senate Resolution 13 memorializing Wanda Porterfield Casto, a 34‑year Senate employee.

Why it matters: the bills change how schools may stock emergency diabetes medication, alter administrative timelines for health‑care businesses, and adjust licensing and background‑check requirements for certain professional boards. The firearms bill changes how the sale and manufacture of guns and ammunition are treated during declared emergencies — a policy with statewide public‑policy and safety implications.

On the floor, the junior senator from the Seventh (identified in the transcript only by seat) explained the purpose of the firearms measure, saying the bill would “declare the sale, repair, maintenance, and manufacture of firearms, ammunition, and related accessories and components to be essential businesses and services for purposes of safety and security in times of declared emergency.” That…