---
type: "Bill"
title: "Applying penalties for nonpayment of royalties under terms of oil and natural gas leases"
description: "Applying penalties for nonpayment of royalties under terms of oil and natural gas leases"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 22"
citation: "West Virginia SB 22 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Finance and Administration", "Natural Resources"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Smith"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 43
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-02-12"
last_action: "2025-08-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6af600d3-b655-4037-8544-f690caa8e585"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=22&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "a614b12aa6052ce9715737ef6ebb92f56159ddc91aba364b9af9b54adebe07b4"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wv"]
---

# West Virginia SB 22 (2025) — Applying penalties for nonpayment of royalties under terms of oil and natural gas leases

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb22%20sub1.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=22)
2. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb22%20sub1%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=22)
3. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb22%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=22)
4. **sb22 hfat akers 3-27 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/sb22%20hfat%20akers%203-27%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **98–0** (pass) · lower
- Passage — **34–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage — **34–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Smith — primary (person)
- Hamilton — cosponsor (person)
- Woelfel — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-02-12** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-12** To Energy, Industry, and Mining
- **2025-02-12** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-02-12** To Energy, Industry, and Mining
- **2025-03-04** Committee substitute reported
- **2025-03-05** On 1st reading
- **2025-03-05** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-06** On 2nd reading
- **2025-03-06** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-07** On 3rd reading
- **2025-03-07** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-07** Passed Senate (Roll No. 71) `passage`
- **2025-03-07** Ordered to House
- **2025-03-10** House received Senate message
- **2025-03-10** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-03-10** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-10** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-20** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-24** Do pass
- **2025-03-25** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-25** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-26** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-26** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-27** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-27** Placed on House Calendar
- **2025-03-28** On 3rd reading, House Calendar
- **2025-04-04** From House Calendar, 3rd reading, placed on Special Calendar
- **2025-04-03** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-03** Passed House (Roll No. 375) `passage`
- **2025-04-03** Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-04-03** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-04-07** House Message received
- **2025-04-07** Senate concurred in House title amendment (Voice vote)
- **2025-04-07** Passed Senate (Roll No. 322) `passage`
- **2025-04-07** Communicated to House
- **2025-04-07** Completed legislative action
- **2025-04-07** House received Senate message
- **2025-04-09** To Governor 4/9/2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-10** To Governor 4/9/2025 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-01** Became law 5/1/2025
- **2025-04-12** Became law without Governor's signature - Senate Journal
- **2025-04-12** Became law without Governor's signature- House Journal
- **2025-08-08** Chapter 113, Acts, Regular Session, 2025 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6af600d3-b655-4037-8544-f690caa8e585`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).