Lawmaker Unhappy With Bills That Have Been Cut

As the 2026 legislative session winds down, not all lawmakers are pleased with bills that have been left behind. 

Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, expressed frustration on the Senate floor Thursday, for the second time this week. 

“This must be the week of disappearing bills,” she quipped as she rose to comment on Senate Bill 981.

The bill would have put a one year hold on utility price hikes to give officials time to study the cause of high rates. It was sent to the Rules Committee or, as Chapman called it, “the committee where bills go to die.”

“I’m sad for the people of West Virginia. I’m sad for the retired woman who’s on a fixed income and can’t keep affording an increase of utility costs. She has to make the difficult decision of buying her life saving medication, food on the table or heat in her house,” Chapman said. 

She painted a similar picture for working families who are struggling to make ends meet. 

“Utility costs are the biggest issue that all of our constituents face, and I’m ashamed that big energy lobbyists win over the people,” Chapman said.

She was also upset when SB 1071 passed the Committee on the Judiciary but didn’t make it back to the full Senate. 

It would have improved public access to machine guns.