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West Virginia House of Delegates
86th West Virginia Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house of the West Virginia Legislature
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 10, 2024
Leadership
Speaker	Roger Hanshaw (R) since August 29, 2018
Speaker pro tempore	Vacant since October 8, 2024
Majority Leader	Eric Householder (R) since January 11, 2023
Minority Leader	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
Voting system	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.wvlegislature.gov

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. The length of regular session is limited to 60 calendar days. The governor can call for special sessions.

Delegates are elected for terms of two years.

Legislative process

Delegates submit bill proposals to the Office of Legislative Services or legislative staff counsel, who draft the bill. Once the bill draft is approved by the delegate, it is submitted for introduction. Bills then undergo committee review and three readings in the house of origin and then the other house of the state legislature.

An unusual feature of the West Virginia legislative process is that revenue bills can originate in either house. The state constitution also prohibits multiple subjects in a single bill.

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. 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.

Membership

Historical

1. Danielle Walker (District 81) resigned to become leader of the ACLU of West Virginia.
2. Elliott Pritt (District 50) changed party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
3. Anitra Hamilton (District 81) was appointed to succeed Danielle Walker.
4. Erikka Storch (District 4) resigned.
5. Diana Winzenreid (District 4) was appointed to succeed Erikka Storch.
6. Michael Honaker (District 46) resigned after his appointment as the inspector general of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.
7. Doug Skaff (District 57) resigned.
8. Jeff Campbell (District 46) was appointed to succeed Michael Honaker.
9. Hollis Lewis (District 57) was appointed to succeed Doug Skaff.
10. Charlie Reynolds (District 6) resigned to assume a position with the West Virginia Division of Highways.
11. Riley Keaton (District 15) resigned to assume a legislative role in the administration of Governor Jim Justice.
12. Jeffrey Stephens (District 6) was appointed to succeed Charlie Reynolds.
13. Erica Moore (District 15) was appointed to succeed Riley Keaton.
14. Moore Capito (District 55) resigned to focus on his 2024 gubernatorial campaign.
15. Caleb Hanna (District 48) resigned to focus on his 2024 campaign for State Auditor.
16. Anita Hall (District 36) resigned.
17. JB Akers (District 55) was appointed to succeed Moore Capito.
18. Tom Clark (District 48) was appointed to succeed Caleb Hanna.
19. David Green (District 36) was appointed to succeed Anita Hall.
20. Mark Ross (District 28) resigned.
21. Ryan Browning (District 28) was appointed to succeed Mark Ross.
22. Todd Kirby (District 44) resigned to assume a judicial position.
23. Bill Roop (District 44) was appointed to succeed Todd Kirby.
24. Paul Espinosa (District 98) resigned to assume a position with the West Virginia Racing Commission.
25. Joe Funkhouser (District 98) was appointed to succeed Paul Espinosa.

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 1/100 of the state's population, or about 17,500 persons. These changes took effect with the 2022 election.

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

Committee chairs and ranking members

Current members

See also

• List of speakers of the West Virginia House of Delegates
• List of West Virginia state legislatures

References

1. ^ West Virginia Constitution, West Virginia Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
2. ^ How a Bill Becomes Law, West Virginia State Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
3. "Bill Status - Complete Bill History".
4. "House Select Committee on Redistricting 2021" (PDF). West Virginia Legislature.

External links

• Official website
• Chronology of Women in the West Virginia Legislature

38°20′9.8″N 81°36′41.5″W / 38.336056°N 81.611528°W / 38.336056; -81.611528

• West Virginia House of Delegates
• State lower houses in the United States