---
type: "Bill"
title: "Enhancing penalties for fleeing officer"
description: "Enhancing penalties for fleeing officer"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 138"
citation: "West Virginia SB 138 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Crime"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hamilton"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 41
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-02-12"
last_action: "2025-08-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/48b7fbf1-8f6f-47f9-a30b-2f8242124189"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=138&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "8b0689755dfe6bead72a2a115e70a512cc789732d3585bc84e96c631041d1693"
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 138 (2025) — Enhancing penalties for fleeing officer

## 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=sb138%20sub1.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=138)
2. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb138%20sub1%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=138)
3. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb138%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=138)
4. **sb138 h jud am _ adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/com_amends/sb138%20h%20jud%20am%20_%20adopted.htm)
5. **sb138 h jud am _1 adopted adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/com_amends/sb138%20h%20jud%20am%20_1%20adopted%20adopted.htm)
6. **sb138 h jud am _1 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/com_amends/sb138%20h%20jud%20am%20_1%20adopted.htm)
7. **sb138 hfat akers 3-5 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/sb138%20hfat%20akers%203-5%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- Passage — **32–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hamilton — primary (person)
- Bartlett — cosponsor (person)
- Deeds — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-12** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-12** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-12** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-02-12** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-18** Committee substitute reported
- **2025-02-19** On 1st reading
- **2025-02-19** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-02-20** On 2nd reading
- **2025-02-20** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-02-21** On 3rd reading
- **2025-02-21** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-02-21** Passed Senate (Roll No. 15) `passage`
- **2025-02-21** Ordered to House
- **2025-02-24** House received Senate message
- **2025-02-24** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-02-24** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-24** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-03** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-06** With amendment, do pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-07** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-07** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-10** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-10** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-10** Amendment reported by the Clerk
- **2025-03-10** Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-03-11** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-11** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-11** Passed House (Roll No. 50) `passage`
- **2025-03-11** Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-03-11** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-03-14** House Message received
- **2025-03-14** Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 108)
- **2025-03-14** Communicated to House
- **2025-03-14** Completed legislative action
- **2025-03-17** House received Senate message
- **2025-03-18** To Governor 3/18/2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-19** To Governor 3/18/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-26** To Governor 3/18/2025 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-24** Approved by Governor 3/25/2025 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-03-24** Approved by Governor 3/24/2025 `executive-signature`
- **2025-08-08** Chapter 157, 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/48b7fbf1-8f6f-47f9-a30b-2f8242124189`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).