# West Virginia SB 197: Relating to crime of sexual abuse by parent, guardian, custodian, or person in position of trust to child

West Virginia SB 197, Relating to crime of sexual abuse by parent, guardian, custodian, or person in position of trust to child, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Ryan Weld (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-06-25 (Chapter 99, Acts, Regular Session, 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB197-2026rs
- 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 SB 197
- State: West Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Relating to crime of sexual abuse by parent, guardian, custodian, or person in position of trust to child
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-06-25, Chapter 99, Acts, Regular Session, 2026
- Sponsor: Ryan Weld (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Subjects: §61-8B-5, §61-8B-9, §61-8D-4a, §61-8D-5, §61-8D-6
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 3 (160 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Felony penalties for sex with minors: benefit, low. Beginning June 12, 2026, third-degree sexual assault is a felony. It covers sex with a mentally defective or mentally incapacitated person, or sex when the offender is 16+ and the other person is under 16 and at least four years younger. Penalties are 2–10 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.…
- Severe penalties for caregiver sexual abuse: benefit, low. Beginning June 12, 2026, any parent, guardian, custodian, or trusted caregiver who has or tries to have sexual contact with a child in their care commits a felony. The child’s consent is not a defense. Penalties are 20–40 years in prison and a $1,000–$10,000 fine. If a caregiver gets someone else t…
- Child neglect death penalties and medical care rules: mixed, low. Beginning June 12, 2026, child neglect that causes death is a felony. Penalties are 10–40 years in prison and a $2,000–$10,000 fine. Treating a child only by prayer under a recognized religious healing method is not, by itself, neglect. A method is presumed recognized if its fees are deductible as…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ryan Weld (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Vince Deeds (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Eric Tarr (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Mike Woelfel (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Zack Maynard (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 679) | pass | 30 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-13 | House | Passed House (Roll No. 518) | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate (Roll No. 254) | pass | 33 | 0 |   |

## Actions (48)

- 2026-06-25: Chapter 99, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: To Governor 3/19/2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: House Message received (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: House amendment to Senate bill reported (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Amendment to House amendment reported (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Amendment to House amendment withdrawn by unanimous consent (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Motion to table bill adopted (voice vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Unanimous consent to remove bill from table (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 679) (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Communicated to House (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Completed legislative action (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: To Governor 3/19/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal (House)
- 2026-03-13: On 3rd reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-13: Read 3rd time (House)
- 2026-03-13: Amendment reported by the Clerk (House)
- 2026-03-13: Amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Amended on 3rd reading (House)
- 2026-03-13: Passed House (Roll No. 518) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Title amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House)
- 2026-03-13: Communicated to Senate (House)
- 2026-03-12: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-12: Read 2nd time (House)
- 2026-03-12: Amendment reported by the Clerk (House)
- 2026-03-12: Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House)
- 2026-03-11: With amendment, do pass (House)
- 2026-03-11: Immediate consideration (House)
- 2026-03-11: Read 1st time (House)
- 2026-03-10: Markup Discussion (House)
- 2026-03-02: House received Senate message (House)
- 2026-03-02: Introduced in House (House)
- 2026-03-02: To Judiciary (House)
- 2026-03-02: To House Judiciary (House)
- 2026-02-27: On 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read 3rd time (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Passed Senate (Roll No. 254) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Ordered to House (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: On 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Read 2nd time (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: On 1st reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Read 1st time (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Reported do pass (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Filed for introduction (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: To Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Introduced in Senate (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: To Judiciary (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enrolled: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 enr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 enr.pdf)
- Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 intr.pdf)

## Related bills

- HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313. (signed)
- HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licensure and create disclosure requirements and daily transaction limitations for ne… (signed)
- 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)

## Sources
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 enr.htm)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 enr.pdf)
- [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 intr.htm)
- [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb197 intr.pdf)

## Related
- [HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5694-2026rs)
- [HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5353-2026rs)
- [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)
- [West Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia/bills)
- [West Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB197-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).