The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Establishes Procedures to Remove Unlawful Discriminatory Restrictions from Land Records and Deeds
Last action · January 23, 2026: To JudiciarySponsors: Mike Oliverio and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 146 creates the Uniform in Land Records Act, allowing individual property owners and homeowners association governing bodies to record s removing discriminatory restrictions based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, or other protected characteristics without requiring a member vote. The measure requires county recorders to log and cross-reference these amendments and protects counties from liability for recording them.
Property owners and associations gain a standardized legal mechanism to expunge discriminatory covenants from property titles, and county clerks are shielded from legal liability when recording these s.
- State legislatures frequently consider uniform acts drafted by the Uniform Law Commission to harmonize state laws across the country. context
- Discriminatory covenants based on race or religion were historically common in older property deeds before being rendered legally unenforceable by federal court rulings and the Fair Housing Act. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Real property owners
Property owners are granted the authority to submit amendments to county recorders to remove unlawful restrictions from their property titles.
Associations of owners
Association governing bodies are authorized to amend governing instruments to remove unlawful restrictions without requiring a member vote.
County commission clerks
Clerks are required to record, index, and cross-reference submitted amendments and are protected from liability for doing so.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can request the removal of an unlawful restriction from a property deed?
Do homeowners association members need to vote to approve the removal of a discriminatory restriction?
Are county clerks liable if they record an amendment under this act?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
6 actions- Jan 23, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Jan 23, 2026SenateCommitteeReported do pass, but first to Judiciary
- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Government Organization
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Government Organization then Judiciary
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Adoption of Uniform Law Commission Act
The bill introduces standardized procedures from the Uniform Law Commission to handle discriminatory land covenants across county records.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools