West Virginia House Bill HB4289

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/30/26

Caption

Relating to authorizing the Board of Funeral Service Examiners to promulgate a legislative rule relating to funeral directors, embalmers, apprentices, courtesy card holders, and funeral establishment requirements.

Summary

House Bill 4289 authorizes a legislative rule for the West Virginia Board of Funeral Service Examiners. The rule covers licensing and regulatory requirements for funeral directors, embalmers, apprentices, courtesy card holders, and funeral establishment requirements. The bill does not itself create a new regulatory scheme; rather, it gives statutory approval to a rule already filed and revised by the board after review by the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee. The measure specifically authorizes the rule filed on July 25, 2025, and refiled on September 10, 2025, after modifications to address committee objections. In practical terms, the bill allows the board’s updated rule, identified as 6 CSR 01, to take effect and govern the profession under existing authority in state law.

Impact

HB4289 affects West Virginia’s administrative rulemaking framework by approving a specific rule under §64-9-1 of the Code of West Virginia and §30-6-6. Its legal effect is to validate the Board of Funeral Service Examiners’ rule on professional qualifications and establishment standards, thereby influencing how funeral service professionals and funeral homes are regulated in the state. The bill primarily impacts funeral directors, embalmers, apprentices, courtesy card holders, and funeral establishments, but it does not appear to alter substantive statutory licensing provisions directly beyond authorizing the rule.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears routine and noncontroversial. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes indicating opposition or debate, and the bill’s purpose is limited to authorizing a revised administrative rule after review by the legislative committee. The overall sentiment is best characterized as procedural support for regulatory housekeeping rather than a contested policy change.

Contention

The only notable point of potential contention is the underlying administrative rule itself, which had to be modified to meet objections from the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee before being refiled. That suggests the committee had concerns about the original version of the rule, though the available materials do not specify what those objections were. No other stakeholders, such as funeral service professionals, funeral establishments, or consumer advocates, are identified in the record as opposing or supporting the bill.