House 4504

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4504

By Delegates Hott, Fehrenbacher, Martin, Willis, Mallow, Heckert, and Dittman

[Introduced January 19, 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 §20-2-39, relating to rules for hunting antlered deer.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

§20-2-39. Rules for hunting antlered deer.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the director shall propose rules for legislative approval, in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, governing the hunting of antlered deer. The rules shall provide that:

(1) The first antlered deer may be harvested by a licensee by any method under existing rules;

(2) The second antlered deer harvested by a licensee, regardless of how harvested, shall have three scorable points on one side; and

(3) No antlered deer may be harvested by a licensee after harvesting the first two.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Director of the Division of Natural Resources to propose rules for hunting antlered deer.

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