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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Establishes Automatic Expiration for State Rules and Creates Regulatory Review Commission
Last action · February 17, 2026: To House Government OrganizationSponsors: Bill Ridenour and 10 others
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia HB 5680 establishes an automatic expiration and system for all administrative rules, requiring state agencies to justify renewals and meet regulatory burden caps or face repeal. The bill creates a 12-member West Virginia Regulatory Review and Sunset Commission, eliminates to agency interpretations, and permits citizen lawsuits to enforce compliance.
- The West Virginia Legislature convenes annually to consider statutory changes and administrative oversight measures. 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.
State agencies
State agencies bear the full burden of proof to justify administrative rules through renewal petitions and must comply with annual regulatory burden caps.
Citizens and small businesses
Citizens and small businesses gain legal standing to challenge noncompliant administrative rules in court and benefit from the expiration of obsolete regulations.
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 is a zero-based review?
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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 17, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Government Organization
- Feb 17, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 17, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Government Organization then Judiciary
- Feb 17, 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
Show 6 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift from Presumed Permanence to Automatic Expiration
The bill shifts West Virginia's regulatory framework from perpetual administrative rules to a time-limited model requiring explicit re-authorization.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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