The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia establishes fire safety standards and exemption rules for enclosed agritourism event spaces
Last action · February 17, 2026: To AgricultureSponsor: Robbie Morris
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia Senate Bill 971 sets specific fire safety requirements for enclosed buildings used for occasional events while exempting them from full-time commercial building codes. The legislation applies to agritourism business owners hosting events in fully enclosed structures and mandates standards including specific exit counts, portable fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, and occupancy limits.
operators must comply with new structural exit, fire extinguisher, alarm, and inspection mandates to host events in enclosed buildings, while certain structures like educational, daycare, and overnight lodging facilities remain excluded from exemptions.
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.
Agritourism business owners
Operators must comply with specific fire safety, exit, extinguisher, and inspection mandates to qualify for building code exemptions for occasional events.
Office of the State Fire Marshal
The office is required to perform initial inspections of agritourism businesses seeking exemptions and provide written reports to the Department of Agriculture.
West Virginia Department of Agriculture
The department determines exemption eligibility after receiving inspection reports from fire safety authorities.
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 types of facilities are prohibited from receiving agritourism building code exemptions?
When is a fire alarm system required for an agritourism event building?
Who must perform the initial safety inspection before an agritourism exemption is granted?
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 Senate committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Agriculture
- Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Agriculture then Government Organization
- Feb 17, 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
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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