WV Senate Opens 2026 Session With First Round of Bills Covering Taxes, Public Safety, Agriculture, and Consumer Rights

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate opened the 2026 Regular Session by introducing a wide range of bills Wednesday, covering issues from tax relief and public safety to agriculture, education, and consumer protections.
Among the first measures filed was the Small Business Growth Act, sponsored by Senate President Randy Smith, aimed at boosting small‑business development. Lawmakers also introduced the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, along with several proposals from Senator Mike Oliverio addressing judicial pay scales, crimes against public justice, and retirement tax exemptions for campus police officers.
Other early bills include measures to increase the Homestead Property Tax Exemption, require certain legal actions involving the WVSSAC to be filed in Wood or Kanawha County, and clarify regulations affecting solar farms and honeybee operations. Senators also introduced the Equipment Right to Repair Act, a proposal to allow 18‑ to 20‑year‑olds to carry concealed weapons without a permit, and bills addressing farmland valuation, veteran protections, and the manufacture of cultivated meat.
The full list of bills will now move through committee assignments as lawmakers begin formal debate in the opening days of the 60‑day session.