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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill SB 77 Raises Insurance Surcharge to Fund Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment
Last action · January 14, 2026: To Government OrganizationSponsors: Rupie Phillips and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 77 raises the fire and casualty insurance policy surcharge to one percent and allocates fourteen percent of those proceeds to a newly created Fire Service Recruitment and Retention Fund. The legislation requires the State Fire Commission to establish a grant program for volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments and mandates that departments implement the State Auditor's West Virginia Checkbook fiscal reporting system by January 1, 2028, to remain eligible for funds.
Policyholders face a higher insurance surcharge, while volunteer fire departments gain access to dedicated grant funding for recruiting and retaining personnel, subject to strict financial reporting compliance.
- Volunteer fire departments across West Virginia rely heavily on state distributions from insurance premium surcharges to support their operational costs. context
- The State Fire Commission operates within the Department of Homeland Security to oversee fire safety regulations and training standards. 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.
policyholders of fire and casualty insurance
Policyholders are subject to a policy surcharge equal to one percent of the taxable premium.
volunteer and part-volunteer fire companies and departments
Departments become eligible for new recruitment and retention grants funded by the insurance surcharge, provided they meet financial reporting requirements.
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 are the requirements for volunteer fire departments to remain eligible for funding?
Who administers the grant program for firefighter recruitment and retention?
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- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Government Organization
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Government Organization then Finance
- 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.
Tying Grant Eligibility to Electronic Financial Reporting
The measure conditions the receipt of state grant funds on the mandatory adoption of the West Virginia Checkbook fiscal reporting system by a strict deadline.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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