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West Virginia House of Delegates | |
|---|---|
| 86th West Virginia Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 10, 2024 |
| Leadership | |
Roger Hanshaw (R) since August 29, 2018 | |
Paul Espinosa (R) since January 11, 2023 | |
Eric Householder (R) since January 11, 2023 | |
Sean Hornbuckle (D) since August 8, 2023 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 100 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority
Republican (89)
Minority Democratic (11) |
Length of term | 2 years |
| Authority | Article VI, West Virginia Constitution |
| Salary | $20,000/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Plurality voting in single-member districts | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (100 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (100 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| House of Delegates Chamber West Virginia State Capitol Charleston, West Virginia | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates.
Organization
Regular sessions begin with an organizational day on the second Wednesday of January of each year.[1] The length of regular session is limited to 60 calendar days.[1] The governor can call for special sessions.[1]
Delegates are elected for terms of two years.[1]
Legislative process
Delegates submit bill proposals to the Office of Legislative Services or legislative staff counsel, who draft the bill.[2] Once the bill draft is approved by the delegate, it is submitted for introduction.[2] Bills then undergo committee review and three readings in the house of origin and then the other house of the state legislature.[2]
An unusual feature of the West Virginia legislative process is that revenue bills can originate in either house.[1] The state constitution also prohibits multiple subjects in a single bill.[1]
If approved by both the West Virginia House of Delegates and the West Virginia Senate, bills are submitted to the governor, who may sign them into law or veto them.[1] State legislators can override the governor's veto of bills with a simple majority vote of both houses, unless the bill is a revenue bill, in which case two-thirds of the members elected to each house are required to override the governor's veto or line-item veto.[1]
Membership
Historical
| Affiliation (Elected) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Other | ||
| 81st Legislature Begin | 54 | 46 | 100 | 0 |
| 81st Legislature End | 53 | 47 | 100 | 0 |
| 82nd Legislature Start | 36 | 64 | 100 | 0 |
| 82nd Legislature End | ||||
| 83rd Legislature Start | 36 | 63 | 100 | 1 (Independent) |
| 83rd Legislature End | 36 | 64 | 100 | 0 |
| 84th Legislature Start | 41 | 59 | 100 | 0 |
| 84th Legislature End | 41 | 58 | 100 | 1 (Independent) |
| 85th Legislature Start | 24 | 76 | 100 | 0 |
| 85th Legislature End | 22 | 78 | 100 | 0 |
| 86th Legislature Start | 12 | 88 | 100 | 0 |
| April 11, 2023[a] | 11 | 99 | 0 | |
| April 17, 2023[b] | 10 | 89 | 99 | 0 |
| April 27, 2023[c] | 11 | 100 | 0 | |
| May 19, 2023[d] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| June 5, 2023[e] | 89 | 100 | 0 | |
| August 30, 2023[f] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| September 8, 2023[g] | 10 | 98 | 0 | |
| September 13, 2023[h] | 89 | 99 | 0 | |
| September 19, 2023[i] | 11 | 100 | 0 | |
| October 6, 2023[j] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| October 12, 2023[k] | 87 | 98 | 0 | |
| October 26, 2023[l] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| October 31, 2023[m] | 89 | 100 | 0 | |
| December 22, 2023[n] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| January 2, 2024[o] | 87 | 98 | 0 | |
| January 7, 2024[p] | 86 | 97 | 0 | |
| January 9, 2024[q] | 87 | 98 | 0 | |
| January 12, 2024[r] | 88 | 99 | 0 | |
| January 29, 2024[s] | 89 | 100 | 0 | |
| Latest voting share | 11.1% | 88.9% | ||
- ^ Danielle Walker (District 81) resigned to become leader of the ACLU of West Virginia.
- ^ Elliott Pritt (District 50) changed party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
- ^ Anitra Hamilton (District 81) was appointed to succeed Danielle Walker.
- ^ Erikka Storch (District 4) resigned.
- ^ Diana Winzenreid (District 4) was appointed to succeed Erikka Storch.
- ^ Michael Honaker (District 46) resigned after his appointment as the inspector general of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.
- ^ Doug Skaff (District 57) resigned.
- ^ Jeff Campbell (District 46) was appointed to succeed Michael Honaker.
- ^ Hollis Lewis (District 57) was appointed to succeed Doug Skaff.
- ^ Charlie Reynolds (District 6) resigned to assume a position with the West Virginia Division of Highways.
- ^ Riley Keaton (District 15) resigned to assume a legislative role in the administration of Governor Jim Justice.
- ^ Jeffrey Stephens (District 6) was appointed to succeed Charlie Reynolds.
- ^ Erica Moore (District 15) was appointed to succeed Riley Keaton.
- ^ Moore Capito (District 55) resigned to focus on his 2024 gubernatorial campaign.
- ^ Caleb Hanna (District 48) resigned to focus on his 2024 campaign for State Auditor.
- ^ Anita Hall (District 36) resigned.
- ^ JB Akers (District 55) was appointed to succeed Moore Capito.
- ^ Tom Clark (District 48) was appointed to succeed Caleb Hanna.
- ^ Stephen "David" Green (District 36) was appointed to succeed Anita Hall.
District organization
Prior to the 1970 Census, districts always respected county lines, with districts always consisting of either a single entire county, or several entire counties. Beginning with that year, the state began to use smaller geographic areas.
In response to the 2010 Census, the Legislature was required to redistrict, with the Democratic Party in control. The Republican Party, and groups from the growing eastern panhandle and Putnam County were among those calling for 100 single member districts. Eventually redistricting was adopted, which divided the state into 67 districts, of which 47 were one-member districts, 11 two-member districts, 6 three-member districts, 2 four-member districts, and 1 five-member district. The five-member district, covering most of Monongalia County, remained among the ten largest multi-member lower house districts in the country.
In response to the 2020 Census, the Legislature was again required to redistrict, this time with the Republican Party in control. The Legislature abandoned the practice of multi-member districts and divided the state into 100 single member districts. Each district contains about 1/100th of the state's population, or about 17,500 persons. These changes took effect with the 2022 election.[3]
Speaker
The Speaker of the House is selected by its members. In contrast to the tradition of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker must vote unless excused. The House rules state that in some cases, the speaker is not required to vote unless the House is equally divided, or unless the speaker's vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal. In the latter case, the question is lost.
Members
86th Legislature party leadership
| Position | Name | Party | District | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Roger Hanshaw | Republican | 62nd | Clay |
| Speaker pro tempore | Paul Espinosa | Republican | 98th | Jefferson |
| Majority Leader | Eric Householder | Republican | 96th | Berkeley |
| Minority Leader | Sean Hornbuckle | Democratic | 25th | Cabell |
| Majority Whip | Marty Gearheart | Republican | 37th | Mercer |
| Minority Whip | Shawn Fluharty | Democratic | 5th | Ohio |
Committee chairs and ranking members
| Committee | Chair | Minority Chair | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Natural Resources |
Agriculture | Ty Nestor | Ric Griffith |
| Natural Resources | Chuck Horst | Evan Hansen | |
| Banking and Insurance | Banking | Trenton Barnhart | Larry Rowe |
| Insurance | Steve Westfall | ||
| Economic Development and Tourism | Gary Howell | Vacant | |
| Education | Joe Ellington | Vacant | |
| Energy and Manufacturing | Bill Anderson | Evan Hansen | |
| Finance | Vernon Criss | Larry Rowe | |
| Fire Departments and EMS | Phil Mallow | Vacant | |
| Government Organization | Chris Phillips | Kayla Young | |
| Health and Human Services | Amy Summers | Mike Pushkin | |
| Jails and Prisons | David Kelly | Joey Garcia | |
| Judiciary | Tom Fast | Joey Garcia | |
| Pensions and Retirement | Marty Gearheart | Vacant | |
| Political Subdivisions | Carl Martin | John Williams | |
| Prevention & Treatment of Substance Abuse | Matthew Rohrbach | Vacant | |
| Rules | Roger Hanshaw | Sean Hornbuckle | |
| Senior, Children, and Family Issues | Margitta Mazzocchi | Vacant | |
| Technology and Infrastructure | Daniel Linville | John Williams | |
| Veteran Affairs and Homeland Security |
Veteran Affairs | Roy Cooper | Ric Griffith |
| Homeland Security | D. Rolland Jennings | Mike Pushkin | |
| Workforce Development | Evan Worrell | Kayla Young | |
Current members
