SB 979 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Requiring Division of Highways publish project bids on its website

SB 979 requires West Virginia's Division of Highways to publish all road and bridge project bids exclusively on its website, removing the current requirement to advertise them in daily newspapers. This change directly affects the Division of Highways (which manages state road projects) and contractors bidding on construction or materials contracts for state roads. The bill modifies existing law to mandate website publication as the sole method for sharing bid details, while maintaining the 14-day advance notice period and $3,000 threshold for simplified bidding. This policy shift aims to modernize transparency by moving bid announcements from print media to a centralized digital platform.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 18, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from an Introduced Version to a Committee Substitute version, expanding the scope of the legislation and adding new provisions for contractor prequalification and bid security requirements. The amendment also updated the bill's title to more accurately reflect its purpose of eliminating newspaper advertisement requirements while maintaining website publication. These changes strengthen oversight and transparency in state road contracting procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from solely requiring website publication of bids to also including provisions for contractor prequalification, bid security requirements, and additional advertising flexibility in print and digital media.

REQUIREMENT

Added new subsection (d) requiring the commissioner to establish proper prequalification criteria for contractors bidding on state road construction work, with specific exclusions for vendors debarred under state procurement laws.

Added new subsection (e) requiring bidders to submit certified checks or bonds (up to 5% of bid amount, minimum $5) with sealed proposals to ensure financial responsibility.

Added new subsection (f) clarifying procedures when all bids are rejected, allowing the commissioner to either perform work with commission forces/prison labor or readvertise.

Modified subsection (b) to clarify that website publication is mandatory while newspaper/digital publication is optional, removing the previous requirement for newspaper advertisements.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill header information to reflect Committee Substitute status with amended sponsors (Senators Rucker and Rose) and revised report date (February 24, 2026).

SCOPE

Expanded bill title to include references to advertisements for work and materials, elimination of newspaper advertisement requirements, and authorization for Commissioner to publish advertisements.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026

How they voted

32–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 33

Feb 27, 2026

D Democratic2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

To House Government Organization

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

To Government Organization

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 263)

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee substitute reported

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor