West Virginia Senate Bill SB333

West Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/13/25
• Refer: 2/13/25

Caption

Office of Inspector General rule relating to hospital licensure

Summary

SB 333 is a rule-authorization bill that approves a legislative rule for the West Virginia Office of Inspector General concerning hospital licensure. The bill amends and reenacts a section of state code to authorize the agency to promulgate the rule, identified as 71 CSR 12, which was filed, modified to address objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee, and refiled before being submitted for legislative approval. The measure does not itself create a new licensing program or rewrite substantive hospital standards in the bill text; instead, it gives legal effect to the agency’s administrative rulemaking on hospital licensure. In practical terms, it allows the Office of Inspector General to move forward with the regulatory framework governing hospital licensure requirements, oversight, and compliance under existing state law.

Impact

If enacted, SB 333 would authorize the hospital licensure rule under West Virginia law, making the rule enforceable as part of the state’s regulatory scheme. The bill affects the Office of Inspector General, hospitals, and other health care facilities subject to licensure and inspection requirements, while leaving the detailed standards to the administrative rule itself rather than the statute. It primarily changes the legal status of the rule by granting legislative approval required for certain agency regulations.

Sentiment

The available record suggests a neutral and procedural posture toward the bill. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes included, there is no evidence of public debate, opposition, or support beyond the fact that the rule was revised to address objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee before being refiled. The bill appears to be a routine authorization measure rather than a controversial policy proposal.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the substance of the hospital licensure rule itself, although that substance is not detailed in the bill text. Any objections would likely concern regulatory requirements imposed on hospitals, compliance burdens, inspection authority, or the scope of the Office of Inspector General’s oversight. The only explicit indication of disagreement is that the rule was modified to meet objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee, suggesting the committee had concerns with the original filing that were resolved before reauthorization.