West Virginia House Bill HB3380

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/14/25
• Refer: 3/14/25

Caption

To require the Bureau for Social Services to file is Social Services Manual as a legislative rule

Summary

HB3380 would require the Bureau for Social Services to promulgate an emergency rule to update the state’s Social Services Manual and bring the current version of that manual into the legislative rulemaking process. The bill specifically addresses a manual that was previously incorporated by reference into state rules and later revised outside of legislative rulemaking. It directs the bureau to file the updated manual for legislative approval under the emergency rule process. The bill also requires that any future revisions to the Social Services Manual be filed as legislative rules rather than being changed administratively outside the Legislature’s review process. In practical terms, the measure would make the manual’s procedures—described as including foster care services and related child welfare procedures—subject to ongoing legislative oversight.

Impact

HB3380 would amend West Virginia’s child welfare law in Article 2, State Responsibilities for Children, by adding a new section requiring legislative-rule treatment of the Social Services Manual. This would affect the Bureau for Social Services’ authority to revise foster care and related social services procedures, shifting future changes into the formal rulemaking process and increasing legislative control over policy updates that affect children, foster care providers, and agency operations.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition from the legislative record included here. Based on the bill text, the measure appears procedural and administrative in nature, focused on restoring legislative oversight over an agency manual rather than changing substantive eligibility or benefit policy.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the balance between administrative flexibility and legislative oversight. Supporters would likely favor requiring the Bureau for Social Services to use legislative rules so that changes to foster care procedures and other manual provisions are transparent and reviewed by lawmakers. Opponents could argue that requiring all revisions to go through legislative rulemaking may slow updates, reduce agency responsiveness, and make it harder to quickly adjust child welfare procedures.