The West Virginia Senate on Friday passed Senate Bill 531, the First Amendment Preservation Act, which would bar state agencies from contracting with advertising firms or media monitoring services that use bias ratings or “reliability” scores to determine ad placements. The vote was 30-2.

Supporters of the measure say it is intended to prevent viewpoint discrimination and ensure public funds do not blacklist conservative news outlets. State agencies would still be able to consider audience size, demographics, and general news aggregation data when purchasing advertising.

“This bill reaffirms West Virginians’ First Amendment rights by ensuring that state advertising dollars do not fund viewpoint discrimination,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Tom Willis, R-Berkeley.

The legislation requires companies bidding for state advertising contracts to certify they do not use politically driven media monitors. Lead sponsor Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, cited concerns about firms such as NewsGuard, which assign “trust scores” to media outlets.

“There’s an overt and plain bias that is there, and this is simply saying that West Virginia going forward will not be using a biased organization like NewsGuard in terms of routing where our advertising money goes,” Azinger said.

NewsGuard, founded in 2018, was created after left-leaning advocacy groups claimed President Donald Trump used “misinformation” to influence voters in the 2016 election. Co-founder Steven Brill, a major Democratic donor and activist, has supported the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and has acted as an informal spokesperson for both the Bill Clinton and Obama administrations. Several studies by the Media Research Center report that NewsGuard systematically gives conservative media lower ratings than liberal outlets.

The Independent Media Council, representing leading conservative and independent media, praised the Senate’s action as a step toward protecting free expression.

“This is an important step towards strengthening the First Amendment and ensuring good stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” IMC spokeswoman Christine Czernejewski said. “West Virginia lawmakers are standing up for a free and independent press while also being good stewards of taxpayer funds.”

Similar measures are gaining traction nationwide. Florida passed a law last year barring state agencies from contracting with firms that use media bias or reliability monitors, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. At the federal level, the National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision requiring Pentagon contractors to certify they do not use media monitors to rank news outlets for ideological bias or factual accuracy in military recruitment ads.

Two Democratic senators voted against SB 531, citing constitutional concerns. Supporters say the bipartisan approval reflects growing scrutiny of media rating firms and their influence on government spending and public policy. If enacted, West Virginia would join Florida and Congress in drawing a clear line against taxpayer-funded viewpoint discrimination