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SB648 • 2026
Strategic and Critical Resources Act
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
Strategic and Critical Resources Act
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: SB648 HFAT Anderson 3-12 Akers 3254 Delegate Anderson moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows: ENG.
Plain English: SB648 HFAT Anderson 3-12 Akers 3254 Delegate Anderson moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows: ENG.
Plain English: SB648 SFA Willis #1 2-17 Kraus 7502 Senator Willis moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ARTICLE 12.
Plain English: SB648 SFA Willis #1 2-17 Kraus 7502 Senator Willis moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ARTICLE 12.
Plain English: SB648 SFAT Willis 2-17 Kraus 7502 Senator Willis moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows: Eng.
Plain English: SB648 SFAT Willis 2-17 Kraus 7502 Senator Willis moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows: Eng.
Chapter 143, Acts, Regular Session, 2026
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026
To Governor 3/18/2026
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - House Journal
Approved by Governor 4/1/2026 - Senate Journal
To Governor 3/18/2026 - Senate Journal
Completed legislative action
Communicated to House
Effective from passage (Roll No. 681)
Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 680)
House Message received
Communicated to Senate
Effective from passage (Roll No. 546)
Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
Passed House (Roll No. 545)
Read 3rd time
On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
Amendment reported by the Clerk
Read 2nd time
On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
Read 1st time
On 1st reading, Special Calendar
With amendment, do pass
Markup Discussion
To House Energy and Public Works
To Energy and Public Works
Introduced in House
House received Senate message
Ordered to House
Effective from passage (Roll No. 117)
Title amendment adopted
Passed Senate (Roll No. 116)
Read 3rd time
On 3rd reading
Floor amendment adopted (Voice vote)
Read 2nd time
On 2nd reading
Read 1st time
On 1st reading
Committee substitute reported
To Judiciary
Introduced in Senate
To Judiciary
Filed for introduction
Strategic and Critical Resources Act
SB 648 Text skip navigation SENATE PRESIDENT SENATORS COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS SENATE CLERK SENATE RULES HOUSE SPEAKER DELEGATES COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS HOUSE CLERK HOUSE RULES HOUSE STAFF JOINT INTERIM COMMITTEES LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATOR LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DIVISION PUBLIC INFORMATION LEGISLATIVE AUTOMATED SYSTEMS DIVISION LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR'S OFFICE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION & RESEARCH DIVISION POST AUDIT DIVISION BUDGET DIVISION REGULATORY AND FISCAL AFFAIRS DIVISION CLAIMS COMMISSION CRIME VICTIMS RULE-MAKING REVIEW SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS JUDICIAL COMP. COMMISSION JOINT RULES STAFF INFO BILL STATUS BILL STATUS BILL TRACKING STATE LAW WEST VIRGINIA CODE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE CODE OF 1931 WV CONSTITUTION US CONSTITUTION REPORTS AGENCY REPORTS AGENCY GRANT AWARDS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS POST AUDITS EDUCATIONAL CITIZEN’S GUIDE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PAGE PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS PHOTO GALLERY CAPITOL HISTORY HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW CONTACT SENATE ROSTER HOUSE ROSTER PUBLIC INFO. NEWS RELEASES HELPFUL LINKS Enrolled Version - Final Version Senate Bill 648 History OTHER VERSIONS - Committee Substitute (1) | Engrossed Version | Introduced Version | | Email Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted WEST virginia legislature 2026 regular session Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 648 By Senators Morris, Charnock, Hamilton, Helton, Queen, Rose, Rucker, Takubo, Woodrum, Z. Maynard, Thorne, Phillips, Deeds, Roberts, Smith (Mr. President), and Tarr [Passed March 14, 2026; in effect from passage] AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §5B-13-1, §5B-13-2, §5B-13-3, §5B-13-4, §5B-13-5, and §5B-13-6, relating to promoting the development and availability of strategic and critical resources through uniform statewide regulation; creating the Strategic and Critical Resources Act; providing legislative findings and purpose; defining strategic and critical resources and other terms and phrases; providing for state preemption of certain local ordinances, laws, and regulations with defined exceptions including certain taxes, rates, charges, and fees; clarifying the applicability of federal laws and regulations and state laws and rules, and requiring legislative rule making by the Office of Energy. Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia: ARTICLE 13. STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL RESOURCES. §5B-13-1. Short title. This article is and may be cited as the Strategic and Critical Resources Act. §5B-13-2. Legislative findings and purpose. (a) The Legislature finds that certain minerals and materials are essential to national security, the welfare of this state, energy reliability, critical infrastructure, and economic stability, and that their availability is vulnerable to supply disruptions. (b) The purpose of this article is to: (1) Promote the development and availability of strategic and critical resources through uniform statewide regulation ; (2) Reserve regulatory authority to the state and federal governments; and (3) Preempt local regulation, except as expressly provided. §5B-13-3. Definitions. As used in this article: "Extraction" means the mining, removal, production, or recovery of a strategic and critical resource by a person lawfully entitled to do so; "Strategic and critical resource" means any of the following items, to the extent intended to be or actually extracted, mined, withdrawn, removed, harvested, or produced from within or upon land, including, but not limited to: (1) Aluminum, aluminum oxide fused crude, antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, beryl ore, bismuth, boron, cadmium, cerium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, ferrochromium, ferromanganese, fluorine, fluorspar, gadolinium, gallium, germanium, graphite, hafnium, holmium, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lead, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, neodymium, nickel, niobium, palladium, phosphate, platinum, potash, praseodymium, rhenium, rhodium, rubber (natural), rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, selenium, silicon, silver, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, terbium, thulium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium; (2) Any other mineral, element, compound, substance, or material listed on, or designated after, January 1, 2025, pursuant to: (A) The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials List; (B) The U.S. Department of Energy Critical Materials List; (C) The Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. § 4501 et seq. ); (D) The Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. § 1606); or (E) U.S. Geological Survey List of Critical Minerals. (3) Any other mineral, element, compound, substance, or material with respect to which the President of the United States makes a presidential determination or executive order after January 1, 2025, specifying that item as essential to the national defense pursuant to Section 303(a)(5) of the federal Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. § 4533(a)(5)); and (4) Any host material from which a strategic or critical resource is intended to be economically recovered as a byproduct; and "Strategic and critical resource facility" means land, structures, equipment, or infrastructure reasonably necessary for the extraction or processing of a strategic and critical resource. §5B-13-4. State preemption of local regulation. (a) Except as provided in this section, a county or municipality may not enact nor enforce any ordinance, regulation, resolution, administrative act, or other local law that prohibits, restricts, limits, or otherwise regulates the extraction of any strategic and critical resource outside municipal or urban areas. (b) Except as provided in this section, a county or municipality may not enact nor enforce any ordinance, regulation, resolution, administrative act, or other local law that prohibits, restricts, limits, or otherwise regulates the acquisition, siting, development, construction, equipping, use, operation, expansion, repair, or maintenance of any strategic and critical resource facility outside municipal or urban areas. (c) This article does not exempt an owner or operator from compliance with generally applicable business licenses, ad valorem property taxation, municipal sales or use taxes, utility rates and service charges, municipal service fees, or the State Building Code. §5B-13-5. Federal and state law unaffected. (a) This article does not limit the applicability of any federal law governing environmental protection, natural resources, or public health, nor any state statute or legislative rule enacted pursuant to such a federal law. (b) Except as expressly set forth in this article, this article is not intended to and does not affect or otherwise limit the applicability of any federal law or state statute or legislative rule applicable to any item designated a strategic and critical resource in this article. §5B-13-6. Rules. (a) The Office of Energy shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article. The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled. ............................................................... Clerk of the Senate ............................................................... Clerk of the House of Delegates Originated in the Senate. In effect from passage. ............................................................... President of the Senate ............................................................... Speaker of the House of Delegates __________ The within is ................................................ this the........................................... 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