---
type: "Bill"
title: "Requiring county planning commission members be state residents"
description: "Requiring county planning commission members be state residents"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 459"
citation: "West Virginia SB 459 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Counties", "Economic Development"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Thorne"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 39
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-02-13"
last_action: "2025-08-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/28ae8fcd-49fa-49a2-ae86-6d658cab1652"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=459&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "c48cd35dd3640325e5a6b11a6a266ed2b21d18cde490a85919b9b1d9e197fa17"
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 459 (2025) — Requiring county planning commission members be state residents

## 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=sb459%20sub1.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=459)
2. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb459%20sub1%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=459)
3. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb459%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=459)
4. **sb459 hfat phillips 4-3 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/sb459%20hfat%20phillips%204-3%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- Passage — **31–2** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **88–1** (pass) · lower
- Passage — **34–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Thorne — primary (person)
- Hamilton — cosponsor (person)
- Helton — cosponsor (person)
- Willis — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-13** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-13** To Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-13** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-02-13** To Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-25** Committee substitute reported
- **2025-02-26** On 1st reading
- **2025-02-26** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-02-27** On 2nd reading
- **2025-02-27** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-02-28** On 3rd reading
- **2025-02-28** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-02-28** Passed Senate (Roll No. 47) `passage`
- **2025-02-28** Ordered to House
- **2025-03-03** House received Senate message
- **2025-03-03** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-03-03** To Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-03** To House Government Organization `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-31** Do pass
- **2025-04-01** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-04-01** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-04-02** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-04-02** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-04-03** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-04-03** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-03** Passed House (Roll No. 376) `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. 323) `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`
- **2025-04-24** Approved by Governor 4/24/2025 `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/24/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/24/2025 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-08-08** Chapter 66, 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/28ae8fcd-49fa-49a2-ae86-6d658cab1652`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).