WV Statewire

A West Virginia lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require all city council and mayoral elections to be partisan and prevent mayors from being appointed except in the case of vacancies.

Retired Army First Sgt. Joe Earley officially launched his campaign Thursday for the West Virginia Senate in District 12, pledging to bring “true conservative leadership” to Charleston and challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Ben Queen in the May 12 primary.

Legislation introduced by Del. Bill Flanigan (R-Ohio, 4) would impose sweeping regulations on artificial intelligence-generated, satirical memes, and digitally altered images, a proposal legal experts say is unconstitutional and modeled after a California law already struck down by a federal court.

Del. Gary Howell and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw have introduced legislation that would significantly restructure prosecutorial authority in West Virginia, a move critics say would erode local control, weaken voter authority and centralize power in state offices.

Legislation introduced by Sen. Eric Tarr (R-Putnam, 4) would significantly limit when plaintiffs can recover damages for future medical monitoring in civil lawsuits, drawing criticism from consumer and labor advocates who say it could restrict access to early disease detection.

Del. Scot Heckert (R-Wood, 13) has introduced legislation that would explicitly restore voting rights to individuals convicted of felonies once they are released from incarceration.

Sen. Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson, 16) has introduced legislation that would recognize gold and silver as legal tender in the state and establish a framework for their use in private and public transactions.

Republican state Sen. Tom Willis formally entered the race for U.S. Senate, filing his candidacy with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office and immediately drawing a sharp contrast with incumbent Sen. Shelley Moore Capito during remarks in Clarksburg.

Toby Heaney officially filed paperwork at the Secretary of State’s Clarksburg Office to run for the West Virginia State Senate, representing District 2.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Wednesday called for a 10% income tax cut and average pay raises of about 3% for public employees as he delivered his first State of the State address of the 2026 legislative session.