SB 443 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Granting municipal fire marshals authority to assist in lawful execution of law-enforcement officer's official duties

This bill grants municipal fire marshals in West Virginia the authority to assist law enforcement officers in carrying out their official duties. It allows fire marshals to arrest individuals who disobey lawful orders at fire scenes, violate arson or explosive offense prohibitions, obstruct a fire marshal, or fail to obey lawful commands, provided they receive required law enforcement training. The legislation also permits fire marshals to file criminal complaints to obtain arrest warrants and clarifies that assistance to federal law enforcement is subject to specific limitations. Additionally, fire marshals may help other law enforcement officers execute their duties when requested, but must work under the direct supervision of the requesting officer.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Jan 30, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Jan 29, 2026

How they voted

330
Passed
Total votes 33
Jan 29, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
31 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
16
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
To House Government Organization
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization then Judiciary
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 23)
upper
Jan 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Committee
To Government Organization
upper
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors