West Virginia House Bill HB3493

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/18/25
• Refer: 3/18/25

Caption

Protection of deployed service members

Summary

HB3493 would create a new section of West Virginia law titled the “Deployed Servicemembers Protection Act.” The bill states legislative findings that deployed servicemembers should be protected from family and financial disruptions while they are away on military duty, and it ties those protections to morale, retention, and the public interest. It also expressly incorporates the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and extends the definition of military service to include certain National Guard state activations lasting 30 days or more. The bill then imposes specific restrictions on spouses during a servicemember’s deployment and for two months afterward. A spouse could not sell residences, vehicles, or other financial assets over $10,000; close joint financial accounts; withdraw more than 50% from joint accounts; or remove joint-custody children from the home of record and out of state for more than two weeks without the servicemember’s express written consent. It also requires that joint-custody children who are not at the home of record be returned to the home of record and joint custody within one week after the servicemember returns, unless the servicemember consents otherwise. Violations would be treated as a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, and civil liability.

Impact

If enacted, HB3493 would add a new criminal and civil enforcement scheme to West Virginia law governing the conduct of spouses during a servicemember’s deployment. It would create state-law protections over joint property, bank accounts, and child custody arrangements, and would apply not only to federal active-duty deployments but also to qualifying National Guard state service. The bill would therefore expand legal restrictions beyond existing federal SCRA protections and give deployed servicemembers a state remedy against unauthorized transactions or custody changes.

Sentiment

The bill’s framing is strongly supportive of deployed servicemembers, with the stated goal of protecting their homes, finances, and children while they are away on duty. The available context shows no recorded committee debate or votes, so there is no documented opposition or amendment activity in the provided materials. Based on the bill text alone, the overall sentiment appears protective and pro-military, emphasizing recruitment, retention, and servicemember well-being.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are the breadth and enforceability of the restrictions on spouses, especially the limits on financial transactions, account withdrawals, and child relocation decisions. The bill also raises questions about overlap with federal SCRA protections and with existing family law and custody law, since it creates criminal penalties for conduct that may otherwise be handled through civil domestic-relations proceedings. No specific objections are recorded in the provided transcripts or vote history, but these issues would likely be the focus of any debate.