---
type: "Bill"
title: "Authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to promulgate legislative rules"
description: "Authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to promulgate legislative rules"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 4217"
citation: "West Virginia HB 4217 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Rule Making Authority"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Foster"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 49
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2020-01-14"
last_action: "2020-04-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/64aa8cf6-1c6f-49f4-9cc4-6168697e883a"
source_url: "http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=4217&year=2020&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "047c1a8344ef2e58ed5a6d09a9085375e9a38f2f70ac87de9dbfbb4d6ec7bc3b"
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 HB 4217 (2020) — Authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to promulgate legislative rules

## Version chain

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

1. **Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4217%20SUB.htm&yr=2020&sesstype=RS&i=4217)
2. **Engrossed Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4217%20SUB%20ENG.htm&yr=2020&sesstype=RS&i=4217)
3. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4217%20SUB%20ENR.htm&yr=2020&sesstype=RS&i=4217)
4. **HB4217 HFA SHOTT _1 2-13 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/chamber/2020/RS/floor_amends/HB4217 HFA SHOTT _1 2-13 adopted.htm)
5. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4217%20INTR.htm&yr=2020&sesstype=RS&i=4217)

## Votes

- PREVIOUS QUESTION — **45–50** (fail) · lower
- PASSAGE — **52–39** (pass) · lower
- EFFECT FROM PASSAGE — **56–35** (fail) · lower
- Passage — **19–15** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Foster — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-14** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2020-01-14** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2020-01-14** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-11** By substitute, do pass
- **2020-02-12** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2020-02-12** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-13** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2020-02-13** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2020-02-13** Motion to move bill to foot of calendar rejected
- **2020-02-13** Previous Question Rejected (Roll No. 183)
- **2020-02-13** Amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2020-02-14** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2020-02-14** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-14** Placed at foot of calendar
- **2020-02-14** Passed House (Roll No. 194) `passage`
- **2020-02-14** Effective date rejected (Roll No. 195)
- **2020-02-14** Communicated to Senate
- **2020-02-17** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2020-02-17** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-17** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-20** Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-21** On 1st reading
- **2020-02-21** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-24** On 2nd reading
- **2020-02-24** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/24/20
- **2020-02-25** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/25/20
- **2020-02-26** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/26/20
- **2020-02-27** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/27/20
- **2020-02-28** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/28/20
- **2020-02-29** Laid over on 2nd reading 2/29/20
- **2020-03-02** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2020-03-02** Committee Amendment Reported
- **2020-03-02** Amendment to committee amendment withdrawn (Voice vote)
- **2020-03-02** Committee amendment rejected (Roll No. 386)
- **2020-03-03** On 3rd reading
- **2020-03-03** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2020-03-03** Passed Senate (Roll No. 394) `passage`
- **2020-03-03** Title amendment withdrawn by unanimous consent
- **2020-03-03** Communicated to House
- **2020-03-03** Completed legislative action
- **2020-03-03** House received Senate message
- **2020-03-07** To Governor 3/12/20 - Senate Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2020-03-07** To Governor 3/12/20 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2020-03-12** To Governor 3/12/20 `executive-receipt`
- **2020-03-07** Approved by Governor 3/25/20 - Senate Journal
- **2020-03-07** Approved by Governor 3/25/10 - House Journal
- **2020-03-25** Approved by Governor 3/25/20 `executive-signature`
- **2020-04-15** Chapter 211, Acts, Regular Session, 2020

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/64aa8cf6-1c6f-49f4-9cc4-6168697e883a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).