HB4606 - Residency Status Affecting Bail Determinations
Summary
West Virginia enacted HB4606 requiring judicial officers to consider the residency status of criminal defendants when determining bail amounts and conditions of pretrial release. The law applies to all persons charged with criminal violations in the state court system. The bill passed with strong legislative support, receiving final passage in the Senate 34-0 and House 84-9.
What changed
West Virginia HB4606 creates a mandatory consideration requirement for judicial officers determining bail and pretrial release conditions. The law establishes that residency status must be evaluated as part of the bail determination process, potentially affecting both the amount of bail required and conditions imposed on pretrial release.
Criminal defendants in West Virginia will now have their residency status formally weighed in bail proceedings. Courts must develop procedures to assess whether defendants are state residents versus non-residents, which may result in different bail terms or release conditions. The legislation passed with overwhelming support after committee review in both House and Senate Judiciary committees.
What to do next
- Update bail hearing procedures to include residency status assessment
- Train judicial officers on new residency-based bail considerations
- Modify pretrial release documentation to capture defendant residency information
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / West Virginia / HB4606 Signed by Governor HB4606 House Bill Signed by Governor 2026-03-14
Relating to the meaning of residence for the purpose of bail
The purpose of this bill is to require that judicial officers consider the residency status of a person charged with a criminal violation in determining bail and conditions of pretrial release.
Bill Details
State West Virginia
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber House
Official Source www.wvlegislature.gov/BillStatus/Billshi...
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Sponsors
Michael Hornby (Rep - R) Joe Funkhouser (Rep - R)
Action History
2026-04-01 H Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 2026-03-14 H Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal 2026-03-14 S Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal 2026-03-14 S To Governor 3/25/2026 - Senate Journal 2026-03-25 H To Governor 3/25/2026 2026-03-14 S Completed legislative action 2026-03-14 S Communicated to House 2026-03-14 S Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 712) 2026-03-14 S House Message received 2026-03-14 H Communicated to Senate 2026-03-14 H House concurred in Senate amend with amend, passed bill (Roll No. 696) 2026-03-14 H Motion for previous question rejected (Roll No. 695) 2026-03-14 H House reconsidered its action 2026-03-14 H Communicated to Senate 2026-03-14 H House refused to concur; requested Senate to recede (Voice) 2026-03-14 H House received Senate message 2026-03-13 S Senate requests House to concur 2026-03-13 S Passed Senate (Roll No. 544) 2026-03-13 S Amended on 3rd reading (Voice vote) 2026-03-13 S Unanimous consent to amend on 3rd reading 2026-03-13 S Read 3rd time 2026-03-12 S Laid over on 3rd reading 3/12/2026 2026-03-12 S On 3rd reading 2026-03-11 S Read 2nd time 2026-03-11 S On 2nd reading 2026-03-10 S Read 1st time 2026-03-10 S Immediate consideration 2026-03-10 S Reported do pass 2026-02-06 S To Judiciary 2026-02-06 S To Judiciary 2026-02-06 S Introduced in Senate 2026-02-05 H Communicated to Senate 2026-02-05 H Title amendment adopted (Voice vote) 2026-02-05 H Passed House (Roll No. 50) 2026-02-05 H Read 3rd time 2026-02-05 H On 3rd reading, Special Calendar 2026-02-04 H Amendment rejected (Voice vote) 2026-02-04 H Amendment reported by the Clerk 2026-02-04 H Read 2nd time 2026-02-04 H On 2nd reading, Special Calendar 2026-02-03 H Read 1st time 2026-02-03 H On 1st reading, Special Calendar 2026-02-02 H By substitute, do pass 2026-01-29 H Markup Discussion 2026-01-28 H To House Judiciary 2026-01-27 H Markup Discussion 2026-01-26 H To House Courts 2026-01-20 H To House Judiciary 2026-01-20 H Introduced in House 2026-01-20 H To Judiciary 2026-01-20 H Filed for introduction
Votes
2026-02-05 Passed House (Roll No. 50) Yea: 92 Nay: 2 2026-03-13 Passed Senate (Roll No. 544) Yea: 34 Nay: 0 2026-03-14 Motion for previous question rejected (Roll No. 697) Yea: 54 Nay: 42 2026-03-14 Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 712) Yea: 34 Nay: 0 2026-03-14 Motion for previous question rejected (Roll No. 695) Yea: 39 Nay: 56 2026-03-14 House concurred in Senate amendment with amendment (Roll No. 696) Yea: 84 Nay: 9
Committee Referrals
2026-01-20 H Judiciary 2026-01-26 H Courts 2026-01-28 H Judiciary 2026-02-06 S Judiciary
Amendments
2026-01-28 hb4606 h courts am _1 2026-02-04 hb4606 hfa lewis 2-4 2026-02-04 hb4606 hfa lewis 2-4 rejected 2026-02-04 hb4606 hfat akers 2-4 2026-02-04 hb4606 hfat akers 2-4 adopted Adopted 2026-03-12 hb4606 sfa garcia _1 3-12 2026-03-12 hb4606 sfa garcia _1 3-12 adopted Adopted 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfa mcgeehan 3-14 _1 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfat mcgeehan _1 3-14 2026-03-14 hb4606 sfat martin _1 3-14 2026-03-14 hb4606 sfa martin _1 3-14 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfa mcgeehan 3-14 _1 adopted Adopted 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfat mcgeehan _1 3-14 adopted Adopted 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfa mcgeehan 3-14 _1 adopted adopted Adopted 2026-03-14 hb4606 hfat mcgeehan _1 3-14 adopted adopted Adopted
Bill Text Versions
0000-00-00 Introduced 0000-00-00 Comm Sub 0000-00-00 Engrossed 0000-00-00 Enrolled
Subjects
Crime Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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