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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill SB 953 Establishes Property Retention Rules for Disaffiliating Local Religious Organizations
Last action · February 16, 2026: To JudiciarySponsors: Amy Grady and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Relating to disaffiliation from religious denominations while retaining property
Determines legal ownership rights and financial reimbursement obligations for church buildings, equipment, and bank accounts when a local congregation splits from a larger denominational body, shifting the burden of proof to parent organizations.
- Property disputes between local religious congregations and hierarchical parent denominations have increasingly led to litigation over who legally owns church buildings and assets upon separation. 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.
Local religious organizations
Local religious organizations gain explicit statutory rules and thresholds for retaining real estate, personal property, and financial assets when disaffiliating from parent denominations.
Parent religious denominations or conferences
Parent denominations must comply with a 60-day accounting timeline and carry the burden of proof with documented evidence to claim ownership of property or financial contributions from disaffiliating local bodies.
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 percentage of the congregation must vote to approve disaffiliation?
How long does a parent denomination have to provide an accounting after a disaffiliation request?
What happens if the parent denomination fails to provide the required accounting within 60 days?
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 16, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 16, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Feb 16, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Judiciary
- Feb 16, 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.
Codification of Church Property Division
The bill introduces explicit statutory property classifications (Classes A, B, and C) and places a strict 60-day accounting requirement with a burden of proof on parent religious organizations.
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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