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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill 5125 Increases Criminal Penalties and Prison Terms for Assaults on Emergency Responders and Public Workers
Last action · February 3, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsor: Kayla Young
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 5125 increases criminal penalties, jail times, and fines for attacking, hindering, or assaulting firefighters, law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, utility workers, correctional employees, and emergency medical personnel.
Increases maximum prison sentences and fine ceilings for offenses committed against designated public workers and emergency personnel.
- House Bill 5125 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. context
- West Virginia legislative measures amending chapters 29 and 61 govern state administrative boards, local fire department powers, and crimes against the person. 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.
Firefighters and Emergency Personnel
Receive enhanced legal protections and harsher criminal penalties against individuals who attack, obstruct, or hinder their official duties.
Law Enforcement and Correctional Employees
Subject to updated assault, battery, and malicious wounding statutes that increase mandatory prison terms and consecutive sentencing rules for inmate assaults.
Health Care Workers and Utility Workers
Added to explicit statutory protections carrying increased penalties for battery, assault, and malicious wounding while acting in an official capacity.
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
What happens if someone hinders or attacks a firefighter during an emergency?
How are penalties for battery against health care workers or utility workers affected?
Can an inmate serve a sentence for assaulting a correctional employee concurrently with their current sentence?
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- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 3, 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
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Broadening of Protected Public Personnel Categories
The legislation uniformly updates penalties across multiple statutes to encompass a wide array of public workers, including healthcare employees, utility workers, and correctional personnel.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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