House 4592

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 4592

By Delegates Hornby, Holstein, J. Cannon, Crouse, Browning, Dean, Ridenour, Stephens, and McGeehan

[Introduced in the Committee on Education on February 11, 2026]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section designated §18B-4-5c, relating to alllowing state institutions of higher education to create safety mapping; providing a format therefore; setting forth requirements for sharing data; requiring approval by certain entities; setting forth effective date; and providing that data does not constitute a public record.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 4. general administration.

§18B-4-5c. Standardized campus safety mapping data.

1. Each state institution of higher education may create standardized campus safety

mapping data that at a minimum, requires that mapping data:

(1) Be in formats that conform to, integrate with, and are accessible within software  platforms used in local public safety answering points and by the city, county, state, and federal

public safety agencies that could provide emergency services on campus without requiring the purchase of additional software or payment of fees to access the data;

(2) Be in formats capable of being printed, shared electronically, and, if requested, digitally integrated into interactive mobile platforms in use;

(3) Be viewable and printable from open-source document or image viewers;

(4) Be oriented to true north and include a fixed grid with consistent "x" and "y" coordinates;

(5) Have its accuracy verified by the entity producing the data through an on-site walk-through of the campus buildings and grounds;

(6) Include accurate floor plans overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of each

campus building;

(7) Include site-specific labeling for all campus buildings, such as room names, hallway designations, exterior doors, stairwell numbers, and the locations of hazards, critical utility controls, key boxes, automated external defibrillators, and trauma kits and campus grounds, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties;

(8) Include the requirement that future updates or modifications to the campus mapping data conform to and integrate with software platforms used by the relevant public safety agencies; and

(9) Be created, stored, and maintained exclusively within the United States for the entire duration of the mapping process and thereafter to ensure security of the data.

(b) The campus safety mapping data prepared pursuant to subsection (a) shall be provided to local first response agencies including police, fire, emergency medical services (EMS), and any other local entities the institution determines should be consulted in accordance with this article. The data shall be provided at no cost and made permanently available to such entities.

(c) In preparing campus safety mapping data, state institutions of higher education shall consult and receive approval from the primary law enforcement agency serving and supporting the institution. These shall include, but are not limited to county, city, or municipal police departments, or Sheriff's Department, prior to procurement to ensure campus mapping data meets the requirements in this section.

(d)   Any data obtained and maintained pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to the provisions of §29B-1-1 et seq. of this code.