West Virginia House Bill HB2278

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/12/25
• Refer: 2/12/25

Caption

Relating to authorizing the Division of Motor Vehicles to promulgate a legislative rule relating to disclosure of information from the files of the Division of Motor Vehicles

Summary

HB2278 is a rule-authorization bill that allows the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to promulgate a legislative rule governing disclosure of information from DMV files. The bill does not itself create a new disclosure regime in statute; instead, it approves an existing DMV rule that was filed, revised to address objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee, and refiled for authorization. The measure specifically authorizes legislative rule 91 CSR 08, which concerns when and how information maintained by the DMV may be disclosed. In practical terms, the bill gives the DMV authority to proceed with implementing and enforcing its administrative rule on records disclosure, subject to the scope of the rule and existing state law governing confidentiality and public access to government records.

Impact

HB2278 affects West Virginia Code §64-8-1 by adding authorization for the DMV’s legislative rule on disclosure of information from DMV files. Its legal effect is to validate the agency rulemaking process and permit the DMV to operate under the approved rule framework, potentially influencing access to driver and vehicle records, privacy protections, and information-sharing practices for government entities and other authorized requesters.

Sentiment

Because no committee transcript or recorded votes were provided, there is no direct evidence of debate, opposition, or support beyond the bill’s procedural purpose. The bill appears to be a routine administrative rule authorization measure, which typically suggests limited controversy and a technical, nonpartisan posture focused on agency compliance with legislative review requirements.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the available materials. The only identifiable issue is the underlying policy question of how much DMV information may be disclosed and to whom, which can implicate privacy, law-enforcement access, and public-records concerns. However, without committee discussion or vote data, it is not possible to attribute any objections to particular legislators, agencies, or stakeholder groups.