---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prevent immediate family members from acting in a fiduciary capacity for the same governmental authority"
description: "Prevent immediate family members from acting in a fiduciary capacity for the same governmental authority"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 2397"
citation: "West Virginia HB 2397 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["County Officials", "Municipalities", "State Personnel"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hillenbrand"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 46
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-02-14"
last_action: "2025-07-31"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/965e4745-0786-4146-8588-b9013bffa2a5"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=2397&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "aba1a56d5d56678078fd9cc4a9f9ad2c771e1a4d384572083bcb6afb37a9db59"
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 2397 (2025) — Prevent immediate family members from acting in a fiduciary capacity for the same governmental authority

## 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=hb2397%20sub1.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2397)
2. **Engrossed Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2397%20sub1%20eng.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2397)
3. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2397%20sub1%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2397)
4. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2397%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2397)
5. **hb2397 hfa butler and kelly 3-17 _1 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/hb2397%20hfa%20butler%20and%20kelly%203-17%20_1%20adopted.htm)
6. **hb2397 hfa mcgeehan 4-7 _1 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/hb2397%20hfa%20mcgeehan%204-7%20_1%20adopted.htm)
7. **hb2397 hfat mcgeehan 4-6 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/hb2397%20hfat%20mcgeehan%204-6%20adopted.htm)
8. **hb2397 s gov am _1 3-31 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/com_amends/hb2397%20s%20gov%20am%20_1%203-31%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- Passage — **33–0** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE-SENATE AMENDED HB — **98–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Hillenbrand — primary (person)
- Brooks — cosponsor (person)
- Cooper — cosponsor (person)
- Funkhouser — cosponsor (person)
- Hite — cosponsor (person)
- Horst — cosponsor (person)
- Masters — cosponsor (person)
- Mazzocchi — cosponsor (person)
- Moore — cosponsor (person)
- Ridenour — cosponsor (person)
- Smith, B. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-14** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-14** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-14** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-02-14** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-11** To House Legal Services `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-11** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-12** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-13** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-17** By substitute, do pass
- **2025-03-18** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-18** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-19** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-19** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-19** Amendment reported by the Clerk
- **2025-03-19** Amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-03-20** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-20** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-20** Passed House (Roll No. 120) `passage`
- **2025-03-20** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-03-21** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-03-21** To Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-21** To Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-02** Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment `committee-passage`
- **2025-04-02** Immediate consideration
- **2025-04-02** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-04-03** On 2nd reading
- **2025-04-03** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-04-03** Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-04-04** On 3rd reading
- **2025-04-04** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-04** Passed Senate with amended title (Roll No. 312) `passage`
- **2025-04-04** Senate requests House to concur
- **2025-04-07** House received Senate message
- **2025-04-07** House concurred in Senate amend with amend, passed bill (Roll No. 397)
- **2025-04-07** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-04-09** House Message received
- **2025-04-09** Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 422)
- **2025-04-09** Communicated to House
- **2025-04-09** Completed legislative action
- **2025-04-22** To Governor 4/22/2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-12** To Governor 4/22/2025 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-12** To Governor 4/22/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-25** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-07-31** Chapter 139, 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/965e4745-0786-4146-8588-b9013bffa2a5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).