West Virginia Senate approves package of bills including newborn surrender, sextortion and teacher rules; several measures effective on passage

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate on Feb. 21 approved several bills on third reading addressing newborn safe-surrender sites, crimes against public-safety animals, sexual-extortion offenses, school employment rules and teacher-retirement hiring. Most roll-call votes were recorded 32 yeas, 0 nays, with two senators absent.

The measures cleared the Senate during a floor session that included committee reports, bill introductions and routine announcements. Senators spoke briefly to explain the bills; debate on the measures was limited before the roll-call votes.

Among the bills that passed: an engrossed committee substitute to allow additional locations and devices for newborn safe surrender and to permit certain 24/7-staffed entities to accept custody of very young infants; a bill creating expanded penalties for assault on police dogs and other public-safety animals; and a committee substitute updating extortion statutes to address sextortion and to increase penalties. The Senate also approved changes to employment rules for school cooks and custodians and extended provisions governing retired teachers employed as substitute teachers, and it expanded when a personal finance course may count toward graduation requirements.

Votes at a glance

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 8 — Newborn Safe Surrender: Passed on third reading (vote announced 32 yeas, 0 nays, 2 absent). The bill permits additional sites and allows EMS facilities, police departments and sheriff’s detachments staffed 24/7 to be designated safe-surrender sites and to install monitored newborn safety devices. (See roll-call result announced on the floor.)

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 151 — Assault on public-safety animals: Passed on third reading (32–0, 2 absent). The bill creates or clarifies misdemeanor and felony offenses for causing injury, serious injury or death to public-safety animals, with self-defense carve-outs described on the floor.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 240 — Extortion/sextortion reforms: Passed on third reading (32–0, 2 absent). The substitute updates extortion definitions, increases some penalties and adds new felony offenses for what senators described as “sextortion” and aggravated sextortion when victims are minors or vulnerable adults.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 275 — School employment qualifications: Passed on third reading (32–0, 2 absent). The substitute removes the high school diploma/equivalent requirement for cooks and custodians employed by county boards. The Senate subsequently voted to make the bill effective from passage; the presiding officer declared the two-thirds threshold met.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 282 — Retired teachers employment: Passed on third reading (32–0, 2 absent). The substitute extends the expiration date for provisions allowing retired teachers to serve as critical-needs substitute teachers under specified conditions and includes posting exceptions. The Senate voted to make the bill effective from passage.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 283 — Personal finance course grades: Passed on third reading (32–0, 2 absent). The substitute permits the personal finance course that counts toward graduation to be taken in grades 9–12 rather than only 11th or 12th grade; it applies retroactively to students who already took the course in earlier grades. The Senate voted to make the bill effective from passage.

- Engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 270 — Firearms during emergency: The Senate laid the bill over one day while it obtains placement on the calendar; no final vote was recorded on the floor during this session.

Key points from floor explanations

Senator from Ohio explained Senate Bill 8, saying the bill permits additional sites to be designated newborn safe-surrender locations and allows those sites to install newborn safety devices. The senator described the devices as temperature controlled and monitored 24/7 and said they are intended “to avoid infant deaths by abandoning the infant in unsafe locations.” The floor explanation stated the bill would permit EMS facilities, police departments and sheriff’s detachments that are staffed around the clock to accept physical custody of a child who is 30 days old or younger.

A junior senator from the seventh described Senate Bill 151 as clarifying crimes related to causing injury or death of public-safety animals, with misdemeanor, felony and self-defense provisions noted on the floor. The senator urged passage, citing the role police canines play in law enforcement.

The same junior senator outlined committee substitute language in Senate Bill 240 addressing extortion and sextortion, describing expanded definitions and stepped felony ranges for repeat offenses and aggravated circumstances (noted on the floor as involving minors or vulnerable adults). The senator said the new offenses were modeled in part on a South Carolina statute and urged passage.

Senator from Mason explained that the committee substitute for Senate Bill 283 expands the allowable grade levels for the personal finance class to count toward graduation (grades 9–12) and that the change applies retroactively for students who already took the course in 9th or 10th grade.

Process notes and next steps

Clerks prepared and closed the machine for each roll call; the clerk announced the tallies and the presiding officer communicated the Senate’s actions to the House. Several bills that passed were then moved to be made effective from passage; the Senate recorded affirmative votes and the presiding officer declared the two-thirds threshold met where applicable.

The Senate’s calendar also included numerous committee reports and first- and second-reading bills that were advanced; several committees announced meeting times. One bill on the floor (Senate Bill 270) was laid over one day while the Senate obtained placement on the calendar.

The session adjourned with the Senate set to reconvene Feb. 22 at 11 a.m.