WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Committee Substitute

Senate Bill 200

By Senators Weld, Phillips, and Deeds

[Reported February 18, 2026, from the Committee on
the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931 as amended; to amend the code by adding a new section, designated §61-5-30; and to repeal §19-20-24, relating to increasing the criminal penalties and fines for assault or battery of governmental representatives, health care providers, utility workers, law-enforcement officers, correctional employees, emergency medical service personnel, and animals used for law enforcement; providing criminal penalties and fines for the crime of causing death or injury to animals used by law-enforcement officials or by fire prevention or investigation officials; defining terms; providing for the right to self-defense; providing an euthanasia exception; and requiring restitution when a public safety animal is killed or injured.  

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.

ARTICLE 20. DOGS AND CATS.

§19-20-24. Causing injury or death to police dogs and other public safety animals used by law-enforcement officials or by fire prevention or investigation officials; criminal penalties.

[Repealed.]

CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.

ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.

§61-2-10b. Malicious assault; unlawful assault; battery; and assault on governmental representatives, health care providers, utility workers, law-enforcement officers, correctional employees and emergency medical service personnel; definitions; penalties.

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Government representative” means any officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision thereof, or a person under contract with a state agency or political subdivision thereof of this state.

(2) “Health care worker” means any nurse, nurse practitioner, physician, physician assistant, or technician practicing at, and all persons employed by or under contract to a hospital, county, or district health department, long-term care facility, physician’s office, clinic, or outpatient treatment facility.

(3) “Emergency service personnel” means any paid or volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, or other emergency services personnel employed by or under contract with an emergency medical service provider or a state agency or political subdivision thereof.

(4) “Utility worker” means any individual employed by a public utility or electric cooperative or under contract to a public utility, electric cooperative, or interstate pipeline.

(5) “Law-enforcement officer” has the same definition as this term is defined in W.Va. Code §30-29-1 of this code, except for purposes of this section, “law-enforcement officer” shall additionally include includes those individuals defined as “chief executive” in W.Va. Code §30-29-1 of this code.

(6) “Correctional employee” means any individual employed by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority, and the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services and an employee of an entity providing services to incarcerated, detained, or housed persons pursuant to a contract with such agencies.

(b) Malicious assault. — Any person who maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts, or wounds or by any means causes bodily injury with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity, and the person committing the malicious assault knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than three nor more than 15 years.

(c) Unlawful assault. — Any person who unlawfully but not maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts, or wounds or by any means causes a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity bodily injury with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill him or her and the person committing the unlawful assault knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than two nor more than five years.

(d) Battery. — Any person who unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to that person acting in such capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, is guilty of a misdemeanor felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500 or confined in jail not less than one month nor more than twelve months imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one year nor more than three years, or both fined and confined imprisoned. If any person commits a second such offense, he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one year two years nor more than three five years, or both fined and imprisoned. Any person who commits a third violation of this subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than two five years nor more than five 10 years, or both fined and imprisoned.

(e) Assault. — Any person who unlawfully attempts to commit a violent injury to the person of a government representative, health care worker, utility worker, emergency service personnel, correctional employee, or law-enforcement officer, acting in his or her official capacity and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully commits an act which places that person acting in his or her official capacity in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury and the person committing the battery knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity, is guilty of a misdemeanor felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not less than twenty-four hours nor more than six months,  imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one year nor more than three years or fined not more than $200, or both fined and confined imprisoned.

 (f) Any person convicted of any crime set forth in this section who is incarcerated in a facility operated by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority, or is in the custody of the Division of Juvenile Services and is at least 18 years of age or subject to prosecution as an adult, at the time of committing the offense and whose victim is a correctional employee may not be sentenced in a manner by which the sentence would run concurrent with any other sentence being served at the time the offense giving rise to the conviction of a crime set forth in this section was committed.

ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST public justice.

§61-5-30.  Causing death or injury to animals by law-enforcement officials or by fire prevention or investigation officials; criminal penalties; and restitution.

(a) As used in this section:

"Public safety animal" means a dog and any other animal specifically trained to assist public safety officers or persons working under the direction of, or in cooperation with, public safety officers in the performance of their official duties;

"Public safety officer" means a law-enforcement officer, fire prevention or investigation officer, correctional officer, or emergency services officer;

"Physical injury" means substantial physical pain or temporary impairment of the animal’s ability to physically function as a public service animal; and

"Serious physical injury" means bodily injury that causes serious or prolonged physical injury or permanent impairment of the animal’s ability to function as a public service animal.

(b) Any person who willfully causes physical injury to a public safety animal under the control of a public safety officer acting in his or her official capacity, and the person committing the act knows or has reason to know that the public safety animal is acting in its official capacity is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, any person who willfully causes serious physical injury to a public safety animal under the control of a public safety officer acting in his or her official capacity, and the person committing the act knows or has reason to know that the public safety animal is acting in its official capacity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate term of not less than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) or (c) of this section, any person who willfully causes the death of a public safety animal under the control of a public safety officer acting in his or her official capacity, and the person committing the act knows or has reason to know that the public safety animal is acting in its official capacity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for an indeterminate term of not less than two years nor more than 10 years, or both fined and imprisoned.

(e) The right of self-defense may be exercised by a person in defense of a public service animal.

(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to a person who euthanizes an injured, ill, or infirm public safety animal as part of his or her official duties.

(g) The provisions of §61-11A-4 of this code relating to court-ordered restitution are applicable to persons convicted of a violation of this section.