House 4748

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4748

By Delegate Young

[Introduced January 22, 2026; referred to the Committee on Government Organization]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §31D-1-132, relating to creating a digital wallet to collect and organize learning and employment records, certifications, and licensures on the Secretary of State's one-stop business portal; defining responsibilities for maintenance; and defining what types of information can be stored in the digital wallet.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

§31D-1-132. Digital Wallet.

(a) The Secretary of State, through administration of the one-stop business portal, shall create the online infrastructure for a digital wallet in which an individual's learning and employment records, certifications, and professional licensures may be stored. The digital wallet shall be made available for public use by January 1, 2027.

(b) While the online infrastructure shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of State to create and maintain, it shall be the responsibility of the individual whose learning and employment records, certifications, and professional licensures are stored there to upload and organize the credentials and to ensure their accuracy. When used correctly, the digital wallet will serve as a repository of all learning and employment records in one spot for easy reference.

(c) Any party contracted with by the Secretary of State to perform any of the obligations under this section shall take appropriate measures to safeguard all information deposited in the digital wallet and shall not:

(1) Use the information deposited in the digital wallet for any purposes other than those contemplated by this section;

(2) Sell, distribute, trade, transfer, provide, give, circulate, or disseminate, the information deposited in the digital wallet; or

(3) Use a third-party vendor to provide any additional service.

(d) Any party contracted with the Secretary of State to perform any of the obligations under this section shall take appropriate measures to safeguard all information deposited in the digital wallet, shall hold such information as confidential, and may not share such information with any other agency or political subdivision of the state or the Federal government.

(e) The Secretary of State shall display a disclaimer on the heading of the portal “This information has not been verified by the Secretary of State.”

(f) (1) The Secretary of State shall make all appropriate effort to ensure that information deposited in the digital wallet shall not be duplicated nor disclosed, and upon the user’s request all information deposited in the digital wallet must be securely deleted.

(2) The information deposited in the digital wallet is exempt from public inspection and copying under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, §29B-1-1, et seq. of this code.

(g) The provisions of this section supersede any existing agreements regarding the administration of the digital wallet.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a digital wallet for certifications and licensures.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.