West Virginia House Bill HB4880

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/26
• Refer: 1/28/26

Caption

Protection of deployed service members

Summary

House Bill 4880 creates the “Deployed Servicemembers Protection Act” and adds a new section to West Virginia law aimed at protecting deployed military personnel and their families. The bill includes legislative findings stating that servicemembers should be able to focus on duty without worrying that spouses or others will dissipate joint assets, sell property, or remove children during deployment. It expressly extends the protections of the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to certain National Guard members called to state service for 30 days or more. The bill sets specific restrictions on spouses during a servicemember’s deployment and for two months afterward. Without the servicemember’s written concurrence, a spouse could not sell residences, vehicles, or other financial assets over $10,000; close joint 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. It also requires that joint-custody children be returned to the home of record and joint custody within one week of the servicemember’s return, absent written consent. Violations would be treated as misdemeanors punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, and civil liability.

Impact

HB4880 would create a new state criminal and civil enforcement framework governing family and financial conduct during military deployment, particularly affecting spouses, joint account holders, and custody arrangements. It would also broaden the state-law definition of military service to include certain National Guard state activations and reinforce SCRA-style protections for those servicemembers. The bill would add new statutory duties and penalties in West Virginia Code §15-1H-7, potentially overlapping with existing family law, property law, and federal servicemember protections.

Sentiment

The bill’s stated purpose and framing are strongly supportive of servicemembers, emphasizing morale, recruitment, retention, and protection of families and property. Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment appears favorable toward military families and deployed personnel. The measure is presented as a protective response to perceived harms experienced by servicemembers during deployment.

Contention

The main points of contention are likely to center on the bill’s breadth and enforceability. The restrictions on spouses’ ability to sell property, access joint funds, or relocate children could raise concerns about due process, family autonomy, and conflicts with existing domestic relations law. The criminal penalty provision may also be controversial because it turns what are often private marital or custody disputes into misdemeanor offenses, and the bill’s application to National Guard state service and its interaction with the federal SCRA could prompt questions about scope and preemption.