Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the West Virginia Legislature, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
ENROLLED
Committee Substitute
for
House Bill 5528
BY DELEGATES D. CANNON, VANCE, AND MARPLE
[Passed March 14, 2026; in effect 90 days from
passage (June 12, 2026)]
Enr CS for HB 5528
1 AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section,
2 designated §5A-8-24a, relating to providing protection of personal residential information
3 of certain public officials; setting forth definitions; requiring a removal or redaction of
4 personal residential information upon a written request; establishing a civil remedy; setting
5 forth permitted disclosures; and requiring a written affirmation that the covered individual
6 understands the redaction of information may cause the forfeiture of certain legal,
7 promotional, or official notices.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 8. PUBLIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION ACT.
§5A-8-24a. Protection of Personal Residential Information of Certain Public Officials.
1 (a) For purposes of this section:
2 "Covered individual" means any person who is or was previously elected, appointed,
3 served, or employed as a judicial officer, prosecutor, public defender, law-enforcement officer,
4 elected official, or campaign treasurer and includes any immediate family member residing in the
5 same household as that individual.
6 “Controlling agency” means the state agency, county, municipality, or political subdivision
7 that is in possession or control of a publicly accessible website, database, or record, containing
8 personal residential information.
9 “Immediate family member” means spouse, child, parent, or any other family member
10 related by blood or by law to the covered individual, and who resides in the same residence as
11 the covered individual.
12 “Judicial officer” means a justice of the United States Supreme Court, any federal judge,
13 a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, a state circuit judge, a family court
14 judge, a magistrate, a state or federal administrative law judge, a municipal court judge, or any
15 other judge established by state law.
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Enr CS for HB 5528
16 “Law-enforcement officer” has the same meaning as that term is defined in §30-29-1 of
17 this code and includes those individuals defined as “chief executive” in §30-29-1 of this code.
18 "Personal residential information" means a covered individual’s home street address,
19 personal residential telephone number, personal cellular telephone number that is not issued by
20 an employing agency, or name when the name is associated with the home street address.
21 “Prosecutor” means the United States Attorney or his or her assistant United States
22 attorneys, any other prosecutor established by federal law, the Attorney General or his or her
23 assistant attorneys general, a county prosecuting attorney or his or her assistant prosecuting
24 attorneys, or any other prosecutor established by state law.
25 “Record” means a publicly and remotely accessible website or database.
26 (b) If a covered individual provides a written request to the controlling agency and the
27 covered individual identifies a specific record with personal residential information, the controlling
28 agency shall remove or redact the covered individual’s personal residential information from the
29 specified record and shall make reasonable efforts to remove the information from all other
30 records within the controlling state agency.
31 (c) If a covered individual provides a written request to the controlling state agency to have
32 personal residential information removed or redacted and the controlling agency fails to remove
33 or redact the information on the specified record, the covered individual may bring a civil action
34 for injunctive or declaratory relief. If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the controlling
35 agency responsible for the violation may be required to pay reasonable attorneys’ fees and other
36 litigation costs reasonably incurred by the covered individual, as applicable and appropriate.
37 (d) This section does not prohibit disclosure of personal residential information for the
38 following:
39 (1) Internal government use;
40 (2) Disclosures required by federal law;
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Enr CS for HB 5528
41 (3) Disclosures to a consumer reporting agency, as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting
42 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.;
43 (4) Disclosures required pursuant to §15-12-1 of this code et seq.;
44 (5) Disclosures to local, state, or federal law-enforcement agencies;
45 (6) Disclosures subject to a valid subpoena or lawful discovery request;
46 (7) Disclosures required pursuant to §17A-2A-7 of this code;
47 (8) Physical documents affecting the title of real property recorded and indexed by a
48 county;
49 (9) Disclosures to a title insurance company, title insurance agent, attorney, mortgage
50 guarantee insurance company, mortgage loan originator, real estate broker, or realtor;
51 (10) Records associated with Uniform Commercial Code filings and financing statements;
52 (11) Information provided to the Secretary of State, or his or her designee, or the chief
53 local election officers, or their designees, for the purposes of enforcing election law; and
54 (12) Disclosures to electoral opponents, or the local chairperson of a political party, of
55 covered individuals for the purpose of challenging a candidate’s eligibility.
56 (e) At the time of the written request, the covered individuals shall affirm in writing that he
57 or she understands the redaction may cause the individual to forfeit certain legal, promotional, or
58 official notices that otherwise would be provided but for the redaction or nondisclosure.
3
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Enr CS for HB 5528
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
5Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.