# West Virginia SB 440: Increasing penalty for transporting telecommunication devices into jails

West Virginia SB 440, Increasing penalty for transporting telecommunication devices into jails, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Vince Deeds (Republican); status failed, last action 2026-03-11 (On 2nd reading, Special Calendar); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB440-2026rs
- 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 440
- State: West Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Increasing penalty for transporting telecommunication devices into jails
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-16
- Last action: 2026-03-11, On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- Sponsor: Vince Deeds (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Subjects: §61-5-8
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 1 (34 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Vince Deeds (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Bill Hamilton (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Eric Tarr (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Tom Willis (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Mike Woelfel (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-09 | Senate | Passed Senate (Roll No. 53) | pass | 34 | 0 |   |

## Actions (25)

- 2026-03-11: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-11: Placed on House Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-11: On 2nd reading, House Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-10: Do pass (House)
- 2026-03-10: Immediate consideration (House)
- 2026-03-10: Read 1st time (House)
- 2026-03-09: Markup Discussion (House)
- 2026-02-10: House received Senate message (House)
- 2026-02-10: Introduced in House (House)
- 2026-02-10: To Judiciary (House)
- 2026-02-10: To House Judiciary (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read 3rd time (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Passed Senate (Roll No. 53) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Ordered to House (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: On 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Laid over on 3rd reading 2/6/2026 (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: On 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read 2nd time (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: On 1st reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Read 1st time (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Committee substitute reported (Senate)
- 2026-01-16: Filed for introduction (Senate)
- 2026-01-16: To Judiciary (Senate)
- 2026-01-16: Introduced in Senate (Senate)
- 2026-01-16: To Judiciary (Senate)

## Bill text

- Committee Substitute: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 sub1.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 sub1.pdf)
- Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 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
- [Committee Substitute (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 sub1.htm)
- [Committee Substitute (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 sub1.pdf)
- [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 intr.htm)
- [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb440 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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB440-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).