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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Restricts Personal Recognizance for Violent Misdemeanors and Felonies
Last action · January 21, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsors: Joe Funkhouser and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia House Bill 4648 prohibits individuals accused of felonies or violent misdemeanors from being released from jail on their own recognizance and mandates cash bond requirements. The legislation also increases and indexes the cash bail threshold for nonviolent felonies to inflation starting July 1, 2026.
Changes pretrial release eligibility and financial conditions for individuals arrested for specific categories of crimes, altering jail population management and financial requirements for defendants across the state.
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.
Persons accused of felonies
Persons accused of violent misdemeanors
Defendants charged with violent misdemeanors are barred from release on their own recognizance.
Defendants charged with nonviolent felonies
The cash bail threshold for nonviolent felonies is increased and adjusted for inflation.
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
Can someone arrested for a violent misdemeanor be released without paying bail?
Are there limits on how high cash bail can be set for a misdemeanor?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 21, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Jan 21, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 21, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Jan 21, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled 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
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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