West Virginia 2026 Session Status: Enacted 1 R cosponsors

SB 556 — Modifying priority of insurance coverage for drivers of certain vehicles provided by entities

Last action — Chapter 193, Acts, Regular Session, 2026

  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 January 21, 2026. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 78% · 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.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes 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.

In plain language

This bill modifies how insurance coverage priority is determined for certain vehicle drivers.

The bill changes the order of insurance coverage for drivers who use specific vehicles from certain entities. This aims to clarify which insurance applies first in case of an accident.

Summary

Modifying priority of insurance coverage for drivers of certain vehicles provided by entities

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

47 added · 30 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendment to Bill SB 556 changes the requirement for insurance coverage for drivers using vehicles from businesses that sell, repair, or service cars. Under the new version, the owner's insurance is secondary, meaning the driver must use up their other available insurance first before relying on the business's policy, as long as certain conditions are met. Notably, the amendment removed the provision that included testing vehicles for potential purchase as a valid scenario for primary coverage. This change matters because it aims to clarify coverage priorities and potentially limit financial liability for vehicle businesses during incidents involving replacement vehicles.

→
Previous
Latest
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Introduced Senate Bill 556 By Senators Martin, Phillips, Takubo, and Woelfel [Introduced January 21, 2026;
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Enrolled Senate Bill 556 B YSENATORS M ARTI, HILLIP, AKUBO,AND WOELFEL [Passed March 11, 2026;
referred to the Committee on Finance] A BILL to amend and reenact §33-6-29 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to modifying the priority of insurance coverage for drivers of motor vehicles provided by entities engaged in the sale, repair, or servicing of motor vehicles.
in effect 90 days from passage (June 9, 2026)] Enr SB 556 ANACT to amend and reenact §33-6-29 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to modifying the priority of insurance coverage for drivers of motor vehicles provided by entities engaged in the sale, repair, or servicing of motor vehicles.
and (2) the insured individual is operating the vehicle with the business owner's permission as a replacement vehicle provided to the insured individual while his or her Intr SB 556 vehicle is out of use because it is being repaired or serviced by the business owner or another person with the permission of the business owner.
and (2) the insured individual is operating the vehicle with the business owner's permission as a replacement vehicle provided to the insured individual while his or her vehicle is out of use because it is being repaired or serviced by the business owner or another person with the permission of the business owner.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any insurance coverage available to the insured individual as described in subsection (b) of this section shall be secondary to any motor vehicle liability insurance owned or obtained by the person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of selling, repairing, leasing, or servicing motor vehicles, if the insured individual is an employee of the business owner and is operating the motor vehicle with the permission of the business owner while acting within the scope of his or her employment.
Enr SB 556 (c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any insurance coverage available to the insured individual as described in subsection (b) of this section shall be secondary to any motor vehicle liability insurance owned or obtained by the person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of selling, repairing, leasing, or servicing motor vehicles, if the insured individual is an employee of the business owner and is operating the motor vehicle with the permission of the business owner while acting within the scope of his or her employment.
or the insured individual is testing the vehicle for possible purchase or for a lease with more than a thirty- day term.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, security maintained as required by §17D-2A-3 and §17D-4-2 of this code on any motor vehicle owned by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of renting, leasing, selling, repairing, or servicing motor vehicles is secondary to coverage under any motor vehicle liability insurance or other form of security meeting or exceeding the requirements in §17D-1-1 et seq.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, security maintained as required by section three, article two-a and section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d §17D- 2A-3 and §17D-4-2 of this code on any motor vehicle owned by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of renting, or leasing, selling, repairing, or servicing the motor vehicle motor vehicles is secondary to coverage under any motor vehicle liability insurance or other form of security meeting or exceeding the requirements in chapter seventeen-d §17D-1-1 et seq.
Enr SB 556 The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
...............................................................
Clerk of the Senate ...............................................................
Clerk of the House of Delegates Originated in the Senate.
In effect 90 days from passage.
...............................................................
President of the Senate ...............................................................
Speaker of the House of Delegates __________ The within is ................................................
this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.
.............................................................
Governor 3
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (4)

Action History

  1. Filed for introduction

  2. To Finance

  3. Introduced in Senate

  4. To Finance

  5. Reported do pass, with title amendment

  6. On 1st reading

  7. Read 1st time

  8. On 2nd reading

  9. Read 2nd time

  10. On 3rd reading

  11. Read 3rd time

  12. Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 37)

  13. Ordered to House

  14. House received Senate message

  15. Introduced in House

  16. To Judiciary then Finance

  17. To House Judiciary

  18. Markup Discussion

  19. Do pass, but first to Finance

  20. 2nd reference dispensed

  21. Immediate consideration

  22. Read 1st time

  23. On 2nd reading, Special Calendar

  24. Read 2nd time

  25. On 3rd reading, Special Calendar

  26. Read 3rd time

  27. Passed House (Roll No. 390)

  28. Communicated to Senate

  29. Completed legislative action

  30. House Message received

  31. To Governor 3/13/2026

  32. Approved by Governor 4/1/2026

  33. Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal

  34. Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal

  35. Chapter 193, Acts, Regular Session, 2026

Sponsors

  • Phillips · Cosponsor
  • Takubo · Cosponsor
  • Woelfel · Cosponsor
  • Patrick Martin · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 148 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

  • Phillips
  • Takubo
  • Woelfel

Not signed on (148)

148 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 148 →

"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

Subjects

public-safety transportation health-insurance
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

What does SB 556 do?
Modifying priority of insurance coverage for drivers of certain vehicles provided by entities
Who sponsors SB 556?
SB 556 is sponsored by Phillips, Takubo, Woelfel, and Patrick Martin (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 556?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 21, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 556?
Track SB 556 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 556

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 556

Last checked for changes 8 days ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →