The West Virginia House of Delegates approved legislation that would change how certain court and law-enforcement records are made public.
House Bill 4468 would repeal a 2022 law that restricted access to arrest-stage records in sexual offense cases. Supporters of the original law said it was meant to protect victims, but critics argued it also limited transparency by shielding the accused from public view.
Lawmakers say the current statute has caused confusion across magistrate courts, with inconsistent interpretations of what records can be released.
Supporters of the new bill say it would restore transparency while still protecting victims by requiring names and addresses of sex crime victims to be redacted from released records.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.