HB 3377: Non-State Owned Roads Improvement Act - West Virginia

Engrossed Committee Substitute → hb3377 hfa linville _1 3-31 revised adopted.htm · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was updated to reflect a procedural amendment where Delegate Linville moved to replace the entire bill with a revised version dated March 31. The substantive legal text regarding road maintenance and Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Associations remained largely unchanged, with only minor formatting adjustments, such as removing trailing spaces and line breaks, between the existing code sections.

PROCEDURAL

The document header was changed from 'Engrossed Committee Substitute' to a specific revision note indicating Delegate Linville's amendment to replace the bill text, dated March 31.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting cleanup was performed, including removing trailing spaces and unnecessary line breaks within the legal text sections.

Committee Substitute → Engrossed Committee Substitute · 4 edits · Mar 31, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from Article 2E to 2F to reflect its status as an 'Engrossed' version. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new method for identifying orphan roads, allowing the Division of Highways to either provide written reports or publish an online interactive map for counties to identify roads not on the state system. Additionally, a specific clause regarding the cooperative production of utilities by Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Associations was added to clarify their scope.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by adding a new mechanism for identifying eligible roads via an online Geospatial Information Systems map, in addition to traditional written reports.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and section numbers were updated from 'Article 2E' to 'Article 2F' to match the final legislative version.

REQUIREMENT

The process for identifying orphan roads was expanded to allow the Division of Highways to either submit written reports or publish an online interactive map for counties to use.

The criteria for determining orphan road inclusion were updated to reference the new reporting and mapping methods established in the previous section.

DEFINITION

A specific provision was added clarifying that 'regulated public utilities' include utilities obtained or produced through cooperative action by the Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Association.

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly rewritten to shift focus from a general municipal improvement program to a specific 'County and Municipal Orphan Road Program' managed by the Division of Highways. It also introduced a new chapter creating 'Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Associations' for private communities to manage shared utilities. The new version adds strict criteria for road eligibility, requires rights-of-way dedication, and mandates an online state road map.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from solely municipal road repairs to a state-managed program for acquiring and maintaining 'orphan roads' (roads not maintained by any government entity), while also adding a new mechanism for private homeowners' associations to manage infrastructure.

SCOPE

Added a new state-managed program where the Division of Highways identifies and designates 'orphan roads' for counties and municipalities to acquire.

Added a new section creating 'Infrastructure Only Common Ownership Associations' allowing private groups to form associations specifically for managing roads, utilities, and broadband.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed road eligibility from a general list of improvements to specific criteria: must exist since Jan 1, 2025, be publicly accessible, and currently have no government maintainer.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that all necessary rights-of-way must be dedicated or donated for a road to qualify for the program.

TIMELINE

Added a deadline for the Division of Highways to create and publish an online Geospatial Information Systems map of state roads by July 1, 2026.

DEFINITION

Removed the simple definition of 'non-state owned roads' and replaced it with a more complex definition tied to the new orphan road program criteria.

Non-State Owned Roads Improvement Act

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