Legislature passes 108 resolutions during 2025 regular session
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – As West Virginians wait for Gov. Morrisey to either sign or veto the 249 bills that completed legislation in 2025, so far he has signed 31 bills into law, we decided to take a look at the 108 resolutions passed by either the House or Senate, or both.
Resolutions are not laws and they are not bills, instead they serve as a type of opinion or written intent by legislators. Often, resolutions rename state bridges to honor those who have served West Virginia, but they can also designate special days like “Rural Health Day,” or “Future Farmers Day. Resolutions may also highlight accomplishments made by West Virginians, and they allow legislators to provide their voice on major issues that impact the state and world.
The following is a brief rundown of some of the resolutions passed this year:
- House Concurrent Resolution 49 – This resolution requested that the Maryland General Assembly reject potential laws that would “change the stream designation of the North Branch of the Potomac River from the mouth of the Savage River extending to the area of Pinto, Maryland, from a “Warm Water Aquatic Life” use to a “Cold Water Aquatic Life” use.” The resolution states that although the Potomac River is shared by both West Virginia and Maryland, “the water itself belongs to Maryland.” However, if the proposed changes to the stream’s designation should occur, it “will add unnecessary costs on any industrial employer located in West Virginia.”
According to reporting in the Bay Journal, a 501c3 nonprofit news organization focused on the Chesapeake Bay watershed area, an environmental issues “clash” has been brewing for some time in Maryland ever since the closure of the Luke Paper Mill in 2019.
- House Concurrent Resolution 78 – This resolution requests that the Division of Highways make the completion of the King Coal Highway (I-73) a priority. The King Coal Highway affects Wayne, Mingo, McDowell, Mercer, and Wyoming counties.
- House Concurrent Resolution 96 – This resolution urged West Virginia Senators Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito and Representative Riley Moore and Carol Miller to ask President Trump to not cut funding for the Local Food for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) program and the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. The resolution states that $660 million over the next three years would allow schools and childcare centers to purchase local food.
“If we want to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ this program is a shining example of serving kids locally grown, high quality, dye-free, scratch cooked meals while supporting American farmers,” the resolution states.
- House Resolution 13 – This resolution urges the state’s healthcare providers “to promote C-peptide testing education and training initiatives among critical care and emergency healthcare providers in Memory of Michael Brandon Cochran.”
“Michael Brandon Cochran died on February 11, 2019, from severe hypoglycemia, a condition caused by the felonious actions of his then wife, and one which could not be readily recognized by healthcare providers,” the resolution states. Cochran was a Raleigh County resident. His wife, Natalie, was found guilty of his murder by non-prescription insulin injection in January 2025.
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 15 – The resolution opposes “the People’s Republic of China’s misuse of United Nations Resolution 2758 to delegitimize Taiwan and exclude Taiwan from international organizations.”
- Senate Resolution 11 – This resolution recognized Cottage Hill Farm, located in Grant County, as “West Virginia’s outstanding family-owned Hereford cattle farm for 2024.”
- Senate Resolution 22 – This resolution recognized the 175th anniversary of Wheeling Hospital – which “to date has served patients longer than any other hospital in West Virginia.”
- Senate Resolution 30 – This resolution recognized the 80th anniversary of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, “the largest philanthropic foundation contributing primarily to West Virginia organizations.”
- Senate Resolution 34 – This resolution expressed support for President Felix Tshisekedi and the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the resolution, “The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are under hostile and unprovoked attack and invasion by the M23 armed rebel groups backed by Rwanda under President Kagame which should be stopped immediately to safeguard civilians from being targeted by the Rwanda-backed militia.”
- Senate Resolution 50 – This resolution requests that the federal government evaluate and act on stream and river restoration opportunities to assist those in West Virginia who have experienced flood damage and for mitigation of future risks.
The full list of resolutions may be viewed on the West Virginia Legislature’s website, or by clicking here.
