Rep. Roy Cooper

Maddy summaryHB 4461 requires internet and telecommunications providers in West Virginia to automatically provide prorated bill credits to customers when service is interrupted for five or more consecutive days (120 hours) due to the provider's fault. It directly affects subscribers who lose service for extended periods, ensuring they aren't charged for unavailable service. The bill mandates credits proportional to the outage duration, excludes outages caused by customers, cyberattacks, or force majeure, and sets civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation. Providers must report outage data monthly to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division for oversight, though mobile service disruptions are excluded from these rules.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution (HR 11) encourages West Virginia's K-12 students to design a new state highway route number shield for the 2026 anniversaries of the U.S. founding (250th) and the U.S. numbered highway system (100th). It directs the West Virginia Division of Highways and Department of Tourism to hold a statewide student design competition, requiring the shield to maintain federal safety standards for legibility while incorporating West Virginia identity. The winning design would be implemented gradually on state highways starting July 2027, replacing existing signs only as they wear out, and the student designer would receive legislative recognition. The resolution is procedural and non-binding, focusing on celebration and civic engagement rather than new policy.

Maddy summaryHR 9 is a ceremonial resolution honoring the late West Virginia House Delegate Douglas John Skaff Jr. It expresses the House of Delegates' condolences to his family and commemorates his service, including his roles as a delegate representing multiple districts and as Minority Leader. The resolution has no policy impact - it is purely symbolic, acknowledging his career in public service, business, and community leadership. It was unanimously adopted by the House on February 5, 2026, the same day it was introduced.

Maddy summaryHB 5160 prohibits all unauthorized atmospheric modification activities - such as cloud seeding, stratospheric aerosol injection, and directed-energy heating - within or above West Virginia. The law establishes the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as the lead agency to enforce the ban, deny permits for such activities, and pursue penalties for violations. It applies to all individuals, organizations, and government entities conducting atmospheric modification without state authorization. Violations could trigger state enforcement actions, fines, and cooperative investigations with law enforcement agencies. The bill aims to protect public health, agriculture, and environmental integrity by preventing unregulated atmospheric changes.

Maddy summaryHB 5189 establishes a two-county pilot program requiring child protective services (CPS) workers in West Virginia to use mobile devices (like tablets) for conducting child abuse and neglect investigations starting October 2027. The bill mandates that devices must create real-time digital records, automatically upload data daily to a central system, work with existing software, and be used in at least 70% of cases during the pilot. It directly affects CPS workers in the two participating counties and requires the Department of Human Services to report annually on program metrics to the legislature. The pilot will run for five years, ending in 2032, with data used for system-wide quality improvement analysis.

Maddy summaryHB 5190 increases West Virginia's annual conservation funding by $300,000, with the additional funds allocated exclusively based on the head count of cattle and/or large livestock. This change directly affects land conservation grant programs, requiring that new funding distribution be tied to livestock numbers rather than other conservation criteria. The bill amends existing law to mandate this livestock-based allocation starting July 1, 2026. It does not alter the existing conservation criteria (like wildlife habitat or watershed protection) but specifies how the new $300,000 will be distributed. The change applies only to the incremental funding, not the existing conservation budget.

Maddy summaryHB 5194 prohibits the use of calculators and math computational devices (like graphing calculators or digital math tools) in all K-8 public and charter school classrooms across West Virginia. The bill directly affects students in kindergarten through eighth grade and their teachers, requiring classrooms to operate without these devices for math instruction. Key provisions explicitly ban such devices in all public school settings, removing their use from math lessons for this age group. The law aims to ensure students develop foundational math skills without technological assistance during early education.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires West Virginia public schools hosting paid athletic events to sell tickets at the school gate, accept cash payments, and offer online ticket purchases. It directly affects all public secondary schools in the state that charge admission for athletic events. The law mandates these three specific ticketing methods to ensure accessibility for all attendees. This amendment updates existing education code without altering eligibility rules or other school activity requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 5192 clarifies that the School Access Safety Fund's per-pupil funding calculation must use the higher of either the last three-year average enrollment or the current year's enrollment. This change ensures funding levels remain stable during temporary enrollment declines, preventing reductions in allocated funds. County school boards receiving these safety-related funds will use this method to determine their per-pupil allocation. The bill specifically amends existing law for the School Access Safety Fund, which supports school safety projects.

Maddy summaryHB 5193 would abolish West Virginia's legal doctrine of adverse possession, which previously allowed individuals to gain ownership of land by occupying it continuously for a set period without the owner's permission. The bill amends Section 55-2-1 of the state code to explicitly state that "the doctrine and law of adverse possession is abolished" and repeals Section 55-2-3, which previously governed land claims under this doctrine. This change directly affects property owners, who would no longer face claims of ownership by long-term occupants, and occupants who might have sought title through this method. The bill removes a specific legal pathway for acquiring land title, replacing it with a straightforward rule that all land claims must follow standard ownership and transfer processes.