How the Legislature did — and didn't — address West Virginia's challenges during the 2026 session

West Virginia lawmakers ended the 2026 legislative session with some progress on issues like foster care and child care, but stalled on power-bill relief, public school funding, drinking water, and flood prevention. On data centers, lawmakers pushed through rules that would maintain secrecy and exclude the public from decisions, despite community opposition. They also approved a $4 billion data center for Berkeley County. In foster care, lawmakers passed bills to speed up funding for kinship families and ensure foster kids get more support transitioning to adulthood. But they didn't embrace reducing the state's reliance on out-of-state placements. On education, lawmakers fully funded the state's school voucher program, while plans to increase public school funding languished. They did pass a bill to repeal the high school transfer portal. Lawmakers stalled on addressing high electricity costs, handing out more incentives to the coal industry instead. They also weakened rules for aboveground storage tanks and failed to implement an early flood warning system. Overall, the session was marked by lawmakers prioritizing deregulation, propping up the coal industry, and focusing on divisive social issues, rather than tackling the state's most pressing challenges.