Clarifying Right to Farm Act relating to regulation of honey bees
This bill clarifies West Virginia's Right to Farm Act to specifically protect residential beekeeping operations, ensuring honey beekeeping on private property is recognized as a permitted agricultural activity. It creates special vehicle registration plates for organizations promoting pollinators, with fees collected from these plates ($25 initial fee, $15 annual) deposited into the State Road Fund to fund highway beautification projects that support pollinator habitats. The bill also updates definitions to include "tropilaelaps mites" as a honey bee pest under the Apiary Act. These changes directly affect beekeepers, pollinator conservation groups, and state highway maintenance programs, while reinforcing the state's focus on protecting pollinators critical to agriculture.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Last action Jan 14, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
To Agriculture
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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