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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
ENROLLED
House Bill 4638
BY DELEGATE WORRELL
[Passed March 10, 2026; in effect 90 days from
passage (June 8, 2026)]
Enr HB 4638
1 AN ACT to amend and reenact §3-2-5, §16-19-3, §16-19-5, and §16-19-19 of the Code of West
2 Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to registration of voters and voluntary registration of
3 organ donors; providing for applications for registration to include an option for the
4 applicant to register as an organ donor and be included in a national organ donor
5 database; revising and providing new definitions; providing that the Secretary of State may
6 establish, contract for the establishment of, a donor registry, or contract for a system to
7 transmit information to a donor registry; authorizing the Secretary of State to provide donor
8 registrant records collected to the donor registry; requiring the Secretary of State to
9 provide information on the election of organ donation, and the election of organ donation
10 on voter registration cards, and providing for promulgation of legislative rules; and
11 providing that the Secretary of State shall be reimbursed by the Center for Organ Recovery
12 and Education for all costs, relating to the creation and administration of a system for
13 transmission of donor information to a donor registry and establishing that the Secretary
14 of State is absolved from all responsibilities to collect and provide donor registrant records
15 if not reimbursed.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.
§3-2-5. Forms for application for registration; information required and requested; types
of application forms; notices.
1 (a)(1) All state forms for application for voter registration shall be prescribed by the
2 Secretary of State and shall conform with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. §1973gg, et seq., the
3 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the requirements of the provisions of this article.
4 Separate application forms may be prescribed for voter registration conducted by the clerk of the
5 county commission, registration by mail, registration in conjunction with an application for motor
6 vehicle driver’s license and registration at designated agencies. These forms may consist of one
7 or more parts, may be combined with other forms for use in registration by designated agencies
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8 or in conjunction with driver licensing and may be revised and reissued as required by the
9 Secretary of State to provide for the efficient administration of voter registration.
10 (2) Notwithstanding any provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection to the contrary, the
11 federal postcard application for voter registration issued pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1973, et seq., the
12 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 and the mail voter registration
13 application form prescribed by the Federal Election Commission pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1973gg,
14 et seq., and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, are accepted as valid forms of application
15 for registration pursuant to the provisions of this article.
16 (3) The Secretary of State is authorized to promulgate procedures to permit persons to
17 register to vote through a secure electronic voter registration system.
18 (b) Each application form for registration shall include:
19 (1) A statement specifying the eligibility requirements for registration and an attestation
20 that the applicant meets each eligibility requirement;
21 (2) Any specific notice or notices required for a specific type or use of application by
22 42 U.S.C. §1973gg, et seq., the National Voter Registration Act of 1993;
23 (3) A notice that a voter may be permitted to vote the partisan primary election ballot of a
24 political party only if the voter has designated that political party on the application for registration
25 unless the political party has determined otherwise;
26 (4) The applicant’s driver’s license number or an identification number issued by the
27 Division of Motor Vehicles. If the applicant does not have a driver’s license or an identification
28 card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, then the last four digits of the applicant’s Social
29 Security number; and
30 (5) Any other instructions or information essential to complete the application process.
31 (c) Each application form shall require that the following be provided by the applicant,
32 under oath, and an application which does not contain each of the following is incomplete:
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33 (1) The applicant’s legal name, including the first name, middle or premarital name, if any,
34 and last name;
35 (2) The month, day, and year of the applicant’s birth;
36 (3) The applicant’s residence address including the number and street or route and city
37 and county of residence except:
38 (A) In the case of a person eligible to register under the provisions of 42 U.S.C.§1973ff, et
39 seq., the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the address at which he or she
40 last resided before leaving the United States or entering the uniformed services, or if a dependent
41 child of such a person, the address at which his or her parent last resided;
42 (B) In the case of a homeless person having no fixed residence address who nevertheless
43 resides and remains regularly within the county, the address of a shelter, assistance center or
44 family member with whom he or she has regular contact or other specific location approved by
45 the clerk of the county commission for the purposes of establishing a voting residence; or
46 (C) In the case of a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program administered by the
47 Secretary of State in accordance with section one hundred three, article twenty-eight (a), chapter
48 forty-eight of this code, the designated address assigned to the participant by the Secretary of
49 State; and
50 (4) The applicant’s signature, under penalty of perjury as provided in section thirty-six of
51 this article, to the attestation of eligibility to register to vote and to the truth of the information
52 given. The clerk may accept the electronically transmitted signature kept on file with another
53 approved state database for an applicant who applies to register to vote using an approved
54 electronic voter registration system in accordance with procedures promulgated by the Secretary
55 of State.
56 (d) The applicant shall be requested to provide the following information, but no application
57 may be rejected for lack of this information:
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58 (1) An indication whether the application is for a new registration, change of address,
59 change of name or change of party affiliation;
60 (2) The applicant’s choice of political party affiliation, if any, or an indication of no affiliation.
61 An applicant who does not enter a choice of political party affiliation is listed as having no party
62 affiliation on the voting record;
63 (3) The applicant’s residence mailing address if different than the residence street
64 address;
65 (4) The last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number;
66 (5) The applicant’s telephone number;
67 (6) The applicant’s e-mail address;
68 (7) The address where the applicant was last registered to vote, if any, for the purpose of
69 cancelling or transferring the previous registration;
70 (8) The applicant’s gender; and
71 (9) A statement as to whether the applicant requests to register as an organ donor and be
72 included in the National Donate Life Registry.
73 (e) The Secretary of State shall prescribe the printing specifications of each type of voter
74 registration application and the voter registration application portion of any form which is part of a
75 combined agency form: Provided, That any physical voter registration records created under this
76 article may be destroyed under the process described in §3-2-29 of this code.
77 (f) Application forms prescribed in this section may refer to various public officials by title
78 or official position but in no case may the actual name of an officeholder be printed on the voter
79 registration application or on any portion of a combined application form.
80 (g) No later than July 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Secretary of State shall submit
81 the specifications of the voter registration application by mail for statewide bidding for a contract
82 period beginning September 1 of each odd-numbered year and continuing for two calendar years.
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83 The successful bidder shall produce and supply the required mail voter registration forms at the
84 contract price to all purchasers of the form for the period of the contract.
85 (h) The Secretary of State shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with
86 the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article, including,
87 but not limited to, the collection of the minimum personal information to be collected and
88 transferred to a national organ donor registry, as provided in §3-2-5(d)(9) of this code.
ARTICLE 19. ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT.
§16-19-3. Definitions.
1 As used in this article:
2 "Adult" means an individual who is at least 18 years of age.
3 "Agent" means an individual:
4 (1) Authorized by a medical power of attorney to make health care decisions on behalf of
5 a prospective donor; or
6 (2) Expressly authorized by any other record signed by the donor to make an anatomical
7 gift on his or her behalf.
8 "Anatomical gift" means a donation of all or part of a human body, to take effect after the
9 donor’s death, for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.
10 "Authorized person" means a person other than the donor who is authorized to make an
11 anatomical gift of the donor’s body or part by §16-19-4 or §16-19-9 of this code.
12 "Certification of death" means a written pronouncement of death by an attending
13 physician. Certification is required before an attending physician can allow removal of any part
14 from the decedent’s body for transplant purposes.
15 "Decedent" means a deceased individual whose body is or may be the source of an
16 anatomical gift. The term "decedent" includes a stillborn infant and, subject to restrictions imposed
17 by law other than this article, a fetus.
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18 "Disinterested witness" means a witness other than the spouse, child, parent, sibling,
19 grandchild, grandparent, or guardian of, or another adult who exhibited special care and concern
20 for, an individual who has made, amended, revoked, or refused to make an anatomical gift. The
21 term "disinterested witness" does not include a person to whom an anatomical gift may pass
22 pursuant to §16-19-11 of this code.
23 "Document of gift" means a donor card or other record used to make an anatomical gift.
24 The term includes a statement or symbol on a driver’s license, identification card, hunting or
25 fishing license, voter registration card, or donor registry.
26 "Donor" means an individual whose body or part is the subject of an anatomical gift.
27 "Donor registry" means a database that contains records of anatomical gifts and
28 amendments to, or revocations, of anatomical gifts.
29 "Driver’s license" means a license or permit issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles to
30 operate a vehicle.
31 "Eye bank" means a person licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law
32 to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of human eyes
33 or portions of human eyes.
34 "Guardian" means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding the support,
35 care, education, health, or welfare of an individual. The term "guardian" does not include guardian
36 ad litem.
37 "Hunting or fishing license" means a license issued by the Division of Natural Resources
38 pursuant to §20-2-1 et seq. of this code, for hunting and fishing in the state of West Virginia.
39 "Hospital" means a facility licensed as a hospital under the law of any state or a facility
40 operated as a hospital by the United States, a state, or a subdivision of a state.
41 "Identification card" means an identification card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles
42 pursuant to §17B-2-1 of this code.
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43 "Know" means to have actual knowledge. It does not include constructive notice and other
44 forms of imputed knowledge.
45 "Medical examiner" means an individual appointed pursuant to §61-12-3 et seq. of this
46 code to perform death investigations and to establish the cause and manner of death. The term
47 "medical examiner" includes any person designated by the medical examiner to perform any
48 duties required by this article.
49 "Minor" means an individual who is under 18 years of age.
50 "Organ procurement organization" means a nonprofit entity designated by the Secretary
51 of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as an organ procurement
52 organization pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §273(b).
53 "Parent" means another person’s natural or adoptive mother or father whose parental
54 rights have not been terminated by a court of law.
55 "Part" means an organ, an eye, or tissue of a human being. The term does not include the
56 whole body.
57 "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership,
58 limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or
59 governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
60 "Physician" means an individual authorized to practice medicine or osteopathy under the
61 law of any state.
62 "Physician assistant" has the meaning provided in §30-3E-1 of this code.
63 "Procurement organization" means an eye bank, organ procurement organization, or
64 tissue bank.
65 "Prospective donor" means an individual who is dead or near death and has been
66 determined by a procurement organization to have a part that could be medically suitable for
67 transplantation, therapy, research, or education. The term "prospective donor" does not include
68 an individual who has made a refusal.
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69 "Reasonably available" means able to be contacted by a procurement organization without
70 undue effort and willing and able to act in a timely manner consistent with existing medical criteria
71 necessary for the making of an anatomical gift.
72 "Recipient" means an individual into whose body a decedent’s part has been or is intended
73 to be transplanted.
74 "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an
75 electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
76 "Revocation" means the affirmative declaration of the potential donor’s withdrawal of their
77 decision to make or not make a document of gift. It does not have the same meaning as a refusal
78 but only establishes that the potential donor chooses not to make an affirmative declaration of
79 their wishes.
80 "Refusal" means a record created under §16-19-7 of this code that expressly states an
81 individual’s intent to bar other persons from making an anatomical gift of his or her body or part.
82 "Sign" means to execute or adopt a tangible symbol or attach to or logically associate with
83 the record an electronic symbol, sound or process, with the present intent to authenticate or adopt
84 a record.
85 "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
86 United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the
87 United States.
88 "State registration card" means a physical or electronic document provided to a person as
89 evidence that the person has registered with a state or county authority or has been granted a
90 license by a state agency for purposes administered by that agency or authority.
91 "Surrogate" means an individual 18 years of age or older who is reasonably available, is
92 willing to make health care decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person, possesses the
93 capacity to make health care decisions, and is identified or selected by the attending physician or
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94 advanced nurse practitioner in accordance with §16-30-1 et seq. of this code as the person who
95 is to make those decisions in accordance with the provisions of this article.
96 "Technician" means an individual qualified to remove or process parts by an organization
97 that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law. The term "technician" includes
98 an enucleator, i.e., an individual who removes or processes eyes or parts of eyes.
99 "Tissue" means a portion of the human body other than an organ or an eye. The term
100 "tissue" does not include blood unless the blood is donated for the purpose of research or
101 education.
102 "Tissue bank" means a person that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or
103 state law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of
104 tissue.
105 "Transplant hospital" means a hospital that furnishes organ transplants and other medical
106 and surgical specialty services required for the care of transplant patients.
§16-19-5. Manner of making anatomical gift before donor’s death.
1 (a) A donor may make an anatomical gift:
2 (1) By authorizing a statement or symbol to be imprinted on his or her driver’s license,
3 identification card, voter registration card, or hunting or fishing license indicating that he or she
4 has made an anatomical gift;
5 (2) In a will;
6 (3) During a terminal illness or injury, by any form of communication addressed to at least
7 two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness; or
8 (4) As provided in subsection (b) of this section.
9 (b) (1) A donor or a person authorized by §16-9-4 of this code may make a gift by:
10 (A) A donor card or other record signed by the donor or the authorized person; or
11 (B) Authorizing a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical
12 gift to be included on a donor registry.
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13 (2) If the donor or the authorized person is physically unable to sign a record, another
14 individual may sign at the direction of the donor or the authorized person if the document of gift:
15 (A) Is witnessed and signed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested
16 witness; and
17 (B) Contains a statement that it has been signed and witnessed as required by paragraph
18 (A) of this subdivision.
19 (c) Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a driver’s license or identification
20 card upon which an anatomical gift is indicated does not invalidate the gift.
21 (d) An anatomical gift made by will takes effect upon the donor’s death regardless of
22 whether the will is probated. Invalidation of the will after the donor’s death does not invalidate the
23 gift.
§16-19-19. Donor registry.
1 (a) The Division of Motor Vehicles may establish, or contract for the establishment of, a
2 donor registry.
3 (b) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall cooperate with a person that administers any
4 donor registry established or contracted for pursuant to this section or recognized for the purpose
5 of transferring to the donor registry all relevant information regarding a donor’s making,
6 amendment to, or revocation of an anatomical gift.
7 (c) The Division of Natural Resources shall provide all relevant information regarding a
8 donor’s making, amendment to, or revocation of an anatomical gift to a donor registry established
9 or contracted for pursuant to this section.
10 (d) The Secretary of State may establish, contract for the establishment of, a donor
11 registry, or contract for a system to transmit donor information to a donor registry. The Secretary
12 of State shall provide all relevant information, collected pursuant to the provisions of §3-2-5 of this
13 code, regarding a donor’s making, amendment to, or revocation of an anatomical gift to a donor
14 registry in connection with the registration of voters and changes to a person’s voter information.
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15 (e) A donor registry must:
16 (1) Allow a donor or person authorized under §16-19-4 of this code to include on the state
17 registration card a statement or symbol that the donor has made, amended, or revoked an
18 anatomical gift;
19 (2) Be accessible to a procurement organization to allow it to obtain relevant information
20 on the donor registry to determine, at or near death of the donor or a prospective donor, whether
21 the donor or prospective donor has made, amended, or revoked an anatomical gift; and
22 (3) Be accessible for purposes of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection 24 hours a
23 day, seven days a week.
24 (f) Personally identifiable information on a donor registry about a donor or prospective
25 donor may not be used or disclosed without the express consent of the donor, prospective donor,
26 or person that made the anatomical gift for any purpose other than to determine, at or near death
27 of the donor or prospective donor, whether the donor or prospective donor has made, amended,
28 or revoked an anatomical gift.
29 (g) The Director of the Division of Natural Resources shall provide information regarding
30 the existence of the anatomical organ donation program, the procedures for a hunting or fishing
31 license applicant to indicate his or her desire to make an anatomical gift, and having document of
32 gift affixed to his or her hunting or fishing license pursuant to this article.
33 (h) The Division of Natural Resources shall be reimbursed for all costs relating to the
34 creation and administration of an anatomical gift record by the Center for Organ Recovery and
35 Education: Provided, That the division is absolved of all responsibilities to collect and provide
36 donor registrant records pursuant to this article if not reimbursed according to this subsection.
37 (i) The Secretary of State shall provide every person registering to vote, or modifying
38 details of his or her registration, information regarding the existence of the anatomical organ
39 donation program, the procedures for a voter to indicate his or her desire to make an anatomical
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40 gift, and having a document of gift affixed to his or her voter registration card pursuant to this
41 article.
42 (j) The Secretary of State shall be reimbursed by the Center for Organ Recovery and
43 Education for all costs, relating to the creation and administration of a system for transmission of
44 donor information to a donor registry: Provided, That the secretary is absolved of all
45 responsibilities to collect and provide donor registrant records pursuant to this article if not
46 reimbursed according to this subsection.
47 (k) This section does not prohibit any person from creating or maintaining a donor registry
48 that is not established by or under contract with the state. Any private donor registry must comply
49 with subsections (e) and (f) of this section.
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The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby
certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
...............................................................
Clerk of the House of Delegates
...............................................................
Clerk of the Senate
Originated in the House of Delegates.
In effect 90 days from passage.
...............................................................
Speaker of the House of Delegates
...............................................................
President of the Senate
__________
The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.
.............................................................
Governor
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