West Virginia 2024 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 1 R · 1 D cosponsors

SB 616 — Modifying definition of "family or household members" as it relates to domestic violence laws

Last action — To House Judiciary

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 01, 2024. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House of Delegates.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 68% · high confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (1 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

14 added · 16 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of Bill SB 616 adds "brother-in-law" and "sister-in-law" to the definition of "family or household members" in domestic violence laws. This change expands the protection provided under these laws to include in-laws, ensuring they are recognized as part of families for legal purposes regarding domestic violence. This matters because it helps to close gaps in domestic violence protections, making it clear that in-laws are also eligible for support and legal recourse in such situations.

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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Introduced Senate Bill 616 By Senators trump, Woelfel, and Deeds [Introduced February 1, 2024;
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 616 BYS ENATORSTRUMP, WOELFE,AND DEEDS [Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary] Intr SB 2024R3506 A BILL to amend and reenact §48-27-204 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to adding brother-in-law and sister-in-law to the definition of “family and household members” subject to the provisions of domestic violence laws.
reported February 7, 2024] CS for SB 616 A BILL to amend and reenact §48-27-204 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the definition of "family or household members" for purposes of prevention and treatment of domestic violence;
and adding brother-in-law and sister-in-law to the definition of “family or household members” subject to domestic violence laws.
PART 2.
PART II.
DEFINITIONS.
EFINITIONS.
(I) Daughter-in-law or son-in-law;
CS for SB 616 (I) Daughter-in-law or son-in-law;
Intr SB 2024R3506 (J) Stepdaughter-in-law or stepson-in-law;
(J) Stepdaughter-in-law or stepson-in-law;
(M) Aunt, aunt-in-law or step aunt;
(M) Aunt, aunt-in-law, or step aunt;
(N) Uncle, uncle-in-law or step uncle;
(N) Uncle, uncle-in-law, or step uncle;
(O) Brother-in-law or sister-in-law (O) (P) Niece or nephew;
(O) Brother-in-law or sister-in-law;
(O) (P) Niece or nephew;
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to add brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law to the definition of family and household members subject to the provisions of domestic violence laws.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Action History

  1. To House Judiciary

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Ordered to House

  4. Passed Senate (Roll No. 121)

  5. Read 3rd time

  6. On 3rd reading

  7. Read 2nd time

  8. On 2nd reading

  9. Read 1st time

  10. On 1st reading

  11. Committee substitute reported

  12. To Judiciary

  13. Introduced in Senate

  14. To Judiciary

  15. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 149 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Trump

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (149)

149 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 149 →

"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 33 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 16000
Unaffiliated 16001
Democrat 1000
Total 33001
% of votes cast 97%0%0%3%
How each member voted (34)
Member Party Vote
MARONEY — Yea
STOVER — Not Voting
MARTIN — Yea
STUART — Yea
BOLEY — Yea
SWOPE — Yea
CAPUTO — Yea
NELSON — Yea
PHILLIPS — Yea
PLYMALE — Yea
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

public-safety civil-rights
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 616?
SB 616 is sponsored by Vince Deeds (Republican), Mike Woelfel (Democrat), and Trump.
What is the current status of SB 616?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced February 01, 2024. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 616?
Track SB 616 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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