Folk Reporters

Looking Back on the Final Day of WV’s 2026 Legislative Session

Filming cops, teacher pay raises, Raylee's law, cannabis cash and...magic mushrooms?

Latest in Folk Reporters
OP-ED: How we should actually spend that $276 million in Hope Scholarship funds

The solution to the education needs gap isn't going to come from a scholarship that cannot serve all children in need.

It’s the last day of WV’s Legislative Session. Here’s what bills are dead and what’s still in play. 

Here’s a roundup of key measures that could still become law—and ones that are (probably) dead as we approach sine die.

BBG Tech Joins West Virginia TechConnect Cohort to Accelerate Innovation
BBG Tech: New Innovation and Entrepreneurship Push Could Open Doors for West Virginia Startups
BBG Tech: West Virginia Education Leader Takes AI Classroom Policy to Congress
“Make West Virginia Healthy Again” Act would fight obesity, malnutrition, diabetes, and more.

HB 4982 has already passed the House and gone to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk. It would give the existing Office of Healthy Lifestyles greater authority, create the Healthy Lifestyle Fund and require Medicaid recipients to have access to additional programs.

WV Senate committee considers slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, advances two

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced bills targeting transgender West Virginians and drag performances. It also pulled a bill that would have forbidden state entities from engaging in any discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.

WV Senate committee advances bill to reinstate death penalty

Senate Bill 1037 would reinstate the death penalty as a possible punishment for people convicted of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances.

Black By God’s Folk Reporters are rebuilding rural civic coverage in West Virginia