The 2025 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature is finally done, wrapping up midnight Saturday after 60 days of floor sessions, committee meetings and debates.

I get asked a lot during a session about whether I think a session was good or productive. This year I was asked for letter grades in regard to specific public policy items and how the Legislature did.

I kind of regret having done that. Honestly, only you, the public, can decide whether your lawmakers adequately addressed the issues you are concerned about and voted for these people to solve.

The entire 100-member House will be up for re-election in 2026 and 17 out of 34 members of the Senate will be up for re-election. Lawmakers still have another 60-day session at the beginning of 2026 to prove to you that they hear you and are working in your interests.

No one can know how hard it is to get bills through the legislative process. There were 2,460 bills introduced during this year’s session. As I write this Saturday afternoon, it’s unclear how many bills will complete the legislative process, but it is looking like more than 200 bills. Some of those have already made it down to the desk of Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

Now, did the Legislature pass fewer bills this year compared to other years? Yes. In most years, lawmakers pass between 275 and 350 bills on any given year prior to 2025. House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, warned us in the media in January to not judge the session on the number of bills passed, so I will not.

The number of bills passed is less important than the bills that did get passed. Did the Legislature pass bills dealing with child welfare and foster care? There is House Bill 2123, modifying the criminal penalties imposed on a parent, guardian or custodian for child abuse. But many bills that dealt with other specific issues never made it further than a single committee.

What about substance use disorder? Sure, there were several bills moving during the session that touched on this issue. But looking now, I see Senate Bill 196, Lauren’s Law aimed at increasing penalties on drug kingpins and major dealers and distributors. Will that slow down the inflow of drugs into the state? Maybe, but if something isn’t done to address the demand, those seeking the drugs, then supply is always going to be an issue.

What about bills to incentivize economic development in the state? As I write this, House Bill 2014 creating programs aimed at attracting microgrids and data centers is still bouncing between the House and the Senate. It’s probably THE bill dealing with economic development, and there is still a question as to whether it will really do much to bring one of these major data center projects here. Then again, the fact that such a bill is being considered can be seen as a positive message that the state is willing to work with these kinds of projects.

I could go on. Fact of the matter is there will always be people who say the Legislature did nothing. They did do something, but did the things that they did matter? Will those bills make a difference? Many of the bills passed with unanimous or near unanimous majorities and you will likely never directly feel the effects of those bills.

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We in the media are often accused by some lawmakers of only focusing on divisive issues, forgetting the fact that the divisive issues we cover were first issues they campaigned on then later introduced as bills or pushed in committees. A former Republican lawmaker who tweets under a pseudonym sometimes accuses the statehouse press corps of being left or giving too much space to Democratic comments.

First, we focus on what is going on and what takes up the most time in committees, and this year it was fringe issues: certificate of need repeal, school-vaccine exemptions, transgender issues, DEI, etc. Those are issues with limited-but-vocal support that Republicans themselves focus on, and since Republicans are in the majority, those are the things I cover.

As for giving certain Democratic lawmakers space in stories, it’s my job to show both sides of an issue and even multiple sides when there is more than one point of view. Plus, there are only 11 Democratic lawmakers, two in the Senate and nine in the House, and they don’t always talk during committee or floor debates, so sometimes that means we’re quoting the same people.

In fact, one of the biggest problems that happens during the session is Republicans don’t talk very often about their bills. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been happy with the new House committee structure, because we hear from the lead sponsors.

But Republicans oversee the legislative and executive branch of government in West Virginia, so that’s who I write about. If you want me to write more critical articles of West Virginia Democrats, elect more Democrats for me to write about.

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Once again, I want to thank you, the readers, for paying attention to my legislative coverage this year. And I want to thank this newspaper for making it possible for me to do this. The Legislature is important, and keeping an eye on it is vital.

(Adams is the state government reporter for Ogden Newspapers. He can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)