MORGANTOWN – A bill introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates aims to bring “uniform oversight, registration, and enforcement standards” to West Virginia’s homeless shelters.
House Bill 4403, or the West Virginia Homeless Shelter Oversight & Safety Act, was introduced Jan. 16 by Delegates Scot Heckert, R-Wood; Michael Amos, R-Wayne; and Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire.
The bill states that unlike other congregate living facilities – group homes, recovery residences, shelters for domestic violence, and community residential care facilities – homeless shelters “currently operate with inconsistent regulation, safety requirements, and enforcement mechanisms.”
Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom said Wednesday that this is basically what he was told by the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office when he reached out with concerns, including the high number of calls to MECCA 911 centered around a local shelter.
While the commissioner didn’t name the facility, a December 10, 2025 report from MECCA 911 connected to the Rainbow House location lists 488 calls made for more than 40 different reasons, including 227 requesting area patrols and 153 for security checks, between Dec. 10, 2024 and Dec. 10, 2025.
Project Rainbow’s Rainbow House is open to all, but prioritizes members of the LGTBQ population experiencing homelessness.
According to Bloom, his concerns, which were passed on to the AG’s office in his individual capacity and not on behalf of the county commission, prompted a visit to the shelter.
“They called me after the visit and I sent them the concerns I had and the documentation of incidents that I passed on to [West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness],” Bloom explained, adding, “I asked where the state oversight was, and that is what precipitated this bill.”
The WVCEH is the organization that steers state funding for shelters based on a competitive, application-based process.
According to the language in HB 4403, if adopted in its current form:
- Every homeless shelter operating in West Virginia shall register annually with the Bureau for Public Health.
- No shelter may operate unless it obtains a Homeless Shelter Certificate of Operation, issued upon compliance with a number requirements, including minimum health, sanitation, fire and safety standards; policies for intake, discharge and emergency response; criminal background checks for staff and volunteers with resident contact; and proof of liability insurance.
Shelters operated by churches or faith-based organizations would remain eligible for religious protections under federal law but must comply with the health and safety components.
The bill states the Bureau for Public Health shall adopt legislative rules establishing standards for everything from cleaning and sanitation to staffing ratios, residents rights including a grievance procedure, and incident reporting requirements including overdoses, violence or abuse allegations.
The bureau may conduct announced or unannounced inspections, similar to those required of other congregate living facilities, with violations resulting in penalties ranging from the development of a corrective action plan to fines, to suspension and revocation of a facility’s certificate of operation.
It also notes local governments may adopt additional safety or zoning requirements consistent with state law.
According to the West Virginia Legislature website, HB 4403 is currently pending before the House Health and Human Resources Committee.
