# West Virginia HB 5227: Relating to Secretary of State annual reports, fees, and veteran-owned business logotypes West Virginia HB 5227, Relating to Secretary of State annual reports, fees, and veteran-owned business logotypes, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Joe Funkhouser (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-06-29 (Chapter 167, Acts, Regular Session, 2026) (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5227-2026rs - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: West Virginia HB 5227 - State: West Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Relating to Secretary of State annual reports, fees, and veteran-owned business logotypes - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-05 - Last action: 2026-06-29, Chapter 167, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 - Sponsor: Joe Funkhouser (Republican) - Cosponsors: 4 - Subjects: §59-1-2A - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 5 (346 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Warnings required on business solicitations: benefit, medium. Nongovernment mailers and ads that target businesses must use clear disclaimers. The heading and envelope must use 16‑point bold all‑caps text, and fee pages must state you can file directly with the Secretary for $25 annually or $50 biennially. If a solicitor breaks these rules, a harmed person ca… - Fee waivers at startup events: benefit, low. The Secretary of State may waive new business registration fees at up to three entrepreneurship events or conferences in West Virginia. The waiver is optional and limited to no more than three events. - Help for veteran-owned businesses: benefit, low. Veteran‑owned firms that started on or after July 1, 2015, and active‑duty‑owned firms that started on or after July 1, 2021, do not pay the annual report fee for their first four years. They must still file on time and pay any other required fees. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Secretary creates an o… - Business data price and online fees: cost, medium. The Secretary sells the full Business Organizations Database for $12,000. Monthly update files cost $1,000 per month. When you use the Secretary’s online services, the office may charge any per‑transaction service fee to you. - Stronger penalties for late business filings: cost, medium. Late filings face fixed late fees: for-profits pay $50 if annual and $100 if biennial; nonprofits pay $25 if annual and $50 if biennial. A rejected payment can trigger a bad‑check fee up to $5 plus bank charges. The Tax Commissioner may suspend a business registration if a filing or fee is over 30… - New business report fees and deadlines: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, corporations, LPs, and LLCs must file an annual or biennial report to keep doing business in West Virginia. The fee is $25 for each annual report or $50 for each biennial report, due by 11:59 PM on June 30. A business may switch to filing every two years only after five stra… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Joe Funkhouser (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Scot C. Heckert (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Rick Hillenbrand (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Erica Moore (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Bill Ridenour (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-10 | House | House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 382) | pass | 93 | 0 | | | 2026-03-10 | House | House concurred in Senate effective date (Roll No. 383) | pass | 93 | 0 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 381) | pass | 34 | 0 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 380) | pass | 34 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | House | Passed House (Roll No. 208) | pass | 92 | 0 | | ## Actions (44) - 2026-06-29: Chapter 167, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 (House) - 2026-04-01: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 (House) - 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal (House) - 2026-03-11: House Message received (Senate) - 2026-03-11: To Governor 3/11/2026 (House) - 2026-03-11: To Governor 3/11/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate) - 2026-03-10: House received Senate message (House) - 2026-03-10: House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 382) (House) - 2026-03-10: House concurred in Senate effective date (Roll No. 383) (House) - 2026-03-10: Communicated to Senate (House) - 2026-03-10: Completed legislative action (House) - 2026-03-09: On 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Read 3rd time (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 380) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Effective July 1, 2026 (Roll No. 381) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Senate requests House to concur (Senate) - 2026-03-06: On 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Read 2nd time (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-05: On 1st reading (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Read 1st time (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Introduced in Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-27: To Judiciary (Senate) - 2026-02-27: To Judiciary (Senate) - 2026-02-26: On 3rd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-02-26: Read 3rd time (House) - 2026-02-26: Passed House (Roll No. 208) (House) - 2026-02-26: Communicated to Senate (House) - 2026-02-25: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-02-25: Read 2nd time (House) - 2026-02-25: Amendment reported by the Clerk (House) - 2026-02-25: Amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House) - 2026-02-24: On 1st reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-02-24: Read 1st time (House) - 2026-02-23: Do pass (House) - 2026-02-20: Markup Discussion (House) - 2026-02-19: To House Judiciary (House) - 2026-02-18: To House Legal Services (House) - 2026-02-05: Filed for introduction (House) - 2026-02-05: To Judiciary (House) - 2026-02-05: Introduced in House (House) - 2026-02-05: To House Judiciary (House) ## Bill text - Engrossed: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 eng.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 eng.pdf) - Enrolled: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 enr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 enr.pdf) - Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 intr.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations (signed) - HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to that of a foster parent (signed) - HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance (signed) - HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally (became law) - HB 4138: Relating to persons convicted of a crime (signed) - HB 4106: Allowing constitutional carry for 18- to 20-year-olds (signed) ## Sources - [Engrossed (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 eng.htm) - [Engrossed (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 eng.pdf) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 enr.htm) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 enr.pdf) - [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 intr.htm) - [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5227 intr.pdf) ## Related - [HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4452-2026rs) - [HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to tha…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4390-2026rs) - [HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4354-2026rs) - [HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4191-2026rs) - [HB 4138: Relating to persons convicted of a crime](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4138-2026rs) - [HB 4106: Allowing constitutional carry for 18- to 20-year-olds](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4106-2026rs) - [West Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia/bills) - [West Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5227-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).