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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Authorizes Electronic Monitoring Devices in Long-Term Care Facilities
Last action · February 16, 2026: To House Health and Human ResourcesSponsors: Shawn Fluharty and 7 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 5610 allows residents, guardians, or attorneys-in-fact to install audio or video monitoring devices in long-term care facility rooms, subject to roommate consent and facility form requirements. The bill prohibits facilities from retaliating against residents who use monitors and establishes misdemeanor penalties for unauthorized tampering or retaliatory discharges.
Residents and their families gain the legal right to install private monitoring devices in long-term care rooms, while facilities face license violations and individuals face misdemeanor fines up to $5,000 for tampering with devices, filing false complaints, or retaliating against monitor users.
- House Bill 5610 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature and referred to the House Health and Human Resources Committee. 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.
Long-term care facility residents
Residents gain the right to install monitoring devices in their rooms, subject to roommate consent and facility rules, and are protected from retaliatory discharge.
Long-term care facilities
Facilities must allow patient monitoring, provide accommodation attempts for objecting roommates, and risk license or permit violations for non-compliance.
Guardians and attorneys-in-fact
Representatives are authorized to request monitor installation, provide roommate consent, and view or listen to recorded media.
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
Who pays for the installation and maintenance of the monitoring device?
What happens if a roommate refuses to consent to a monitor in a shared room?
Who is legally permitted to view or listen to the recordings from the device?
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 16, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Health and Human Resources
- Feb 16, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 16, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources then Judiciary
- Feb 16, 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.
Introduction of Mandated Electronic Monitoring in Care Facilities
The bill creates a formal statutory framework authorizing residents to install private monitoring equipment, backed by licensing penalties for facilities that interfere.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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