West Virginia Senate Bill SB499

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/19/26
• Refer: 1/19/26
• Refer: 2/27/26
• Engrossed: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/5/26
• Enrolled: 3/14/26
• Passed: 3/14/26

Caption

Requiring auto accident toxicology test be performed

Summary

SB 499 amends West Virginia’s laws governing drug and alcohol testing after fatal motor vehicle crashes and creates a new section named “Miranda’s Law.” The bill requires a medical examiner to order a blood test for alcohol when a driver or adult pedestrian dies in a crash or within four hours of the crash, and it specifies who may perform that test, when it must occur, and that the person or facility conducting it is immune from civil and criminal liability. It also preserves the existing authority to test deceased persons while clarifying that the medical examiner has charge of the body for purposes of the required testing. The bill further authorizes law enforcement, when there is probable cause to believe a surviving driver involved in a fatal crash committed an alcohol- or drug-related offense, to require a preliminary breath test and a secondary blood or breath test. A warrant is required for a secondary blood draw unless the surviving operator gives written consent. The bill also clarifies who may withdraw blood for the test and extends immunity to those conducting the testing. Results from the postmortem blood tests must be reported to the Chief Medical Examiner and the State Police, and the data are to be compiled and used for statistical and highway safety purposes, while remaining admissible in legal proceedings when relevant.

Impact

SB 499 expands and clarifies West Virginia’s post-crash toxicology testing framework in Chapter 17C, Article 5B by adding mandatory testing procedures for fatal crashes involving surviving operators and by updating reporting, evidentiary, and immunity provisions. It affects medical examiners, law enforcement, hospitals, clinics, and medical personnel who collect or analyze blood or breath samples, and it may affect criminal investigations, DUI prosecutions, and highway safety data collection. The bill takes effect 90 days after passage.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the Legislature. It passed the Senate 31-0, the House 93-0, and the Senate again 32-0 on concurrence, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The absence of committee transcript material suggests there was little recorded public debate in the available materials, and the voting history reflects strong bipartisan consensus around the measure’s public safety purpose.

Contention

No major points of contention are evident in the available record. The main policy choices embedded in the bill are the expansion of mandatory toxicology testing after fatal crashes, the authority for law enforcement to require preliminary breath analysis and secondary testing based on probable cause, and the warrant requirement for nonconsensual blood draws from surviving operators. The bill also balances enforcement with procedural protections by limiting who may withdraw blood and by granting immunity to those performing the tests, but no opposition or disputed amendments are reflected in the provided materials.