West Virginia 2023 Regular Session Status: Enacted 15 R cosponsors

SB 552 — Relating to abortion

Last action — Chapter 253, Acts, Regular Session, 2023

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 02, 2023. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 21 sponsors

    1 primary, 20 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (15 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

1 added · 3 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment to Bill SB 552 changes the title of the bill to clarify its focus on abortion and updates the severability clauses, which determine what happens if parts of the law are found unconstitutional. These changes are important because they help ensure that if any part of the bill is challenged in court, the remaining sections can remain in effect, providing clarity and stability to the law as a whole. This update aims to reinforce the legislative intention and potentially minimize legal disputes regarding the bill.

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SB552 HFA Summers 3-10 #2CR 3338 Delegate Summers moved to amend the bill on page 1, by striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
SB552 HFAT Summers 3-10CR 3338 Delegate Summers moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:“A Bill to amend and reenact §16-2R-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;
ARTICLE 2R.
relating to abortion;
UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ACT.
and revising severability clauses.
§16-2R-9.
  
Severability.If any provision of §16-2R-1 et seq.
of this code is judicially determined to be unconstitutional, this entire article shall be of no force and effect and the provisions of §16-2F-1 et seq., §16-2I-1 et seq., §16-2M-1 et seq., §16-2O-1, §16-2P-1, §16-2Q-1, and §33-42-8 of this code shall become immediately effective.Severability as provided in §2-2-10(b)(7) is applicable to this article:
Provided, That if this entire article is judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-1 et seq., §16-2I-1 et seq., 16-2M-1 et seq., §16-2O-1, §16-2P-1, §16-2Q-1, and §33-42-8 of this code shall become immediately effective:
Provided, however, That if a provision or provisions of §16-2R-1 et seq.
are judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-9, §16-2I-9, §16-2M-7, §16-2O-1(e), §16-2P-1(d), §16-2Q-1(m), and §33-42-8(d)  are not effective.AdoptedRejected
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How this bill changes current law

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Compared against the W. Va. Code as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill modifies the severability clause to ensure that if any provision of the Unborn Child Protection Act is deemed unconstitutional, the entire article becomes ineffective.

  • §16-2R-9

    if this entire article is judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-1 et seq., §16-2I-1 et seq., 16-2M-1 et seq., §16-2O-1, §16-2P-1, §16-2Q-1, and §33-42-8 of this code shall become immediately effective: Provided, however, That if a provision or provisions of §16-2R-1 et seq. of this code are judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-9, §16-2I-9, §16-2M-7, §16-2O-1(e), §16-2P-1(d), §16-2Q-1(m), and §33-42-8(d) of this code are not effective. → If any provision of §16-2R-1 et seq. of this code is judicially determined to be unconstitutional, this entire article shall be of no force and effect and the provisions of §16-2F-1 et seq., §16-2I-1 et seq., §16-2M-1 et seq., §16-2O-1, §16-2P-1, §16-2Q-1, and §33-42-8 of this code shall become immediately effective. Severability as provided in §2-2-10(b)(7) is applicable to this article: Provided, That if this entire article is judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-1 et seq., §16-2I-1 et seq., §16-2M-1 et seq., §16-2O-1, §16-2P-1, §16-2Q-1, and §33-42-8 of this code shall become immediately effective: Provided, however, That if a provision or provisions of §16-2R-1 et seq. are judicially determined to be unconstitutional, then the provisions of §16-2F-9, §16-2I-9, §16-2M-7, §16-2O-1(e), §16-2P-1(d), §16-2Q-1(m), and §33-42-8(d) are not effective.

    This change ensures that the entire Unborn Child Protection Act is rendered ineffective if any part of it is ruled unconstitutional.

Action History

  1. Chapter 253, Acts, Regular Session, 2023

  2. Approved by Governor 3/29/2023

  3. To Governor 3/17/2023

  4. Approved by Governor 3/29/2023 - House Journal

  5. Approved by Governor 3/29/2023 - Senate Journal

  6. To Governor 3/17/2023 - House Journal

  7. To Governor 3/17/2023 - Senate Journal

  8. Completed legislative action

  9. Communicated to House

  10. Effective from passage (Roll No. 603)

  11. Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 603)

  12. House Message received

  13. Communicated to Senate

  14. Effective from passage (Roll No. 717)

  15. Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)

  16. Passed House (Roll No. 716)

  17. Read 3rd time

  18. Dispensed with Constitutional Rule (Roll No. 715)

  19. Amendment adopted (Voice vote)

  20. Read 2nd time

  21. On 2nd reading, Special Calendar

  22. Read 1st time

  23. Immediate consideration

  24. With amendment, do pass, but first to Finance

  25. To House Health and Human Resources

  26. To Health and Human Resources

  27. Introduced in House

  28. Ordered to House

  29. Passed Senate (Roll No. 333)

  30. Read 3rd time

  31. On 3rd reading with right to amend

  32. Read 2nd time

  33. On 2nd reading

  34. Read 1st time

  35. On 1st reading

  36. 2nd reference dispensed

  37. Committee substitute reported, but first to Judiciary

  38. To Health and Human Resources

  39. Introduced in Senate

  40. To Health and Human Resources then Judiciary

  41. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 20 co-sponsors · 131 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (20)

Not signed on (131)

131 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 131 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Passage

Passed 31 Yea · 2 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 16000
Unaffiliated 14201
Democrat 1000
Total 31201
% of votes cast 91%6%0%3%
How each member voted (34)
Member Party Vote
MARONEY — Yea
STOVER — Not Voting
MARTIN — Yea
STUART — Yea
BOLEY — Yea
SWOPE — Yea
CAPUTO — Nay
NELSON — Yea
PHILLIPS — Yea
PLYMALE — Nay
TRUMP — Yea
HAMILTON — Yea
HUNT — Yea
JEFFRIES — Yea
SMITH — Yea
MR PRESIDENT — Yea
KARNES — Yea
Mike Woelfel Democrat Yea
Amy Grady Republican Yea
Ben Queen Republican Yea
Charles H. Clements Republican Yea
Eric Tarr Republican Yea
Jack Woodrum Republican Yea
Jason Barrett Republican Yea
Jay Taylor Republican Yea
Laura Wakim Chapman Republican Yea
Mark R. Maynard Republican Yea
Mike Azinger Republican Yea
Mike Oliverio Republican Yea
Patricia Rucker Republican Yea
Rollan A. Roberts Republican Yea
Ryan Weld Republican Yea
Tom Takubo Republican Yea
Vince Deeds Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights healthcare
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 552?
SB 552 is sponsored by Patricia Rucker (Republican), Jay Taylor (Republican), Karnes, Phillips, Amy Grady (Republican), Mark R. Maynard (Republican), Mike Azinger (Republican), Jack Woodrum (Republican), Rollan A. Roberts (Republican), Vince Deeds (Republican), Mike Oliverio (Republican), Swope, Stuart, Eric Tarr (Republican), Jason Barrett (Republican), Hunt, Ben Queen (Republican), Stover, Laura Wakim Chapman (Republican), Patrick Martin (Republican), and Randy E. Smith (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 552?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 02, 2023. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 552?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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