West Virginia House of Delegates
General Information
Party control:	Republican
Session start:	February 12, 2025
Session end:	April 12, 2025
Term length:	2 years
Term limits:	None
Redistricting:	Legislature-dominant
Salary:	$20,000/year + per diem
Members
Total:	100
Democrats:	9
Republicans:	91
Other:	0
Vacancies:	0
Leadership
Speaker:	Roger Hanshaw (R)
Maj. Leader:	Pat McGeehan (R)
Min. Leader:	Sean Hornbuckle (D)
Elections
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Next election:	November 3, 2026

TheWest Virginia House of Delegates is thelower chamber of theWest Virginia State Legislature. Alongside theWest Virginia State Senate, it forms the legislative branch of the West Virginia state government and works alongside thegovernor of West Virginia to create laws and establish a state budget. Legislative authority and responsibilities of the West Virginia House of Delegates include passing bills on public policy matters, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.

The West Virginia House of Delegates meets in the state capitol building inCharleston, West Virginia.

This page contains the following information on the West Virginia House of Delegates.

• Which partycontrols the chamber
• The chamber'scurrent membership
• Partisan control of the chamberover time
• Elections in the chamber and how vacancies are filled
• Adistrict map
• Howredistricting works in the state
• Legislation currently under consideration
• Legislative session dates
• Legislative procedures, such as veto overrides and the state budget process
• A list ofcommittees

Party control

Current partisan control

The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the West Virginia House of Delegates as of November 2025:

Members

Leadership

The speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body.^[1][2]

Leadership and members

• Speaker of the House:Roger Hanshaw (R)
• Majority leader:Pat McGeehan (R)
• Minority leader:Sean Hornbuckle (D)

Salaries

See also:Comparison of state legislative salaries

Swearing in dates

See also:When state legislators assume office after a general election

West Virginia legislators assume office the first day of December following the election.^[4]

Membership qualifications

See also:State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 12 of Article 6 of theWest Virginia Constitution states, "No person shall be a senator or delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election, been a resident within the district or county from which he is elected; and if a senator or delegate remove from the district or county for which he was elected, his seat shall be thereby vacated."^[5]

Section 13 of Article 6 of theWest Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."^[6]

TheWest Virginia Secretary of State states that candidates must be 18 years of age and must be entitled to vote.^[7]

Historical party control

Republicans won control of the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2014. In2024, they won an 91-9 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the West Virginia House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin'sParty Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Trifecta history

Astate government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Between 1992 and 2023, West Virginia was under the following types of trifecta control:

• Democratic trifecta: 1992-1996, 2001-2014
• Republican trifecta: 2018-2023
• Divided government: 1997-2000, 2015-2017

Elections

Elections by year

West Virginia state delegates servetwo-year terms, with all seats up for election every two years. West Virginia holds elections for its legislature in even years.

2026

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2026

Elections for theWest Virginia House of Delegates will take place in 2026. The general election is onNovember 3, 2026. The primary isMay 12, 2026. The filing deadline is January 31, 2026.

2024

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2024

Elections for theWest Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2024. The general election was onNovember 5, 2024. The primary wasMay 14, 2024. The filing deadline wasJanuary 27, 2024.

In the 2024 elections, Republicans increased their majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 89-11 to 91-9.

2022

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2022

Elections for theWest Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for May 10, 2022. The filing deadline was January 29, 2022.

2020

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2020

Elections for the office ofWest Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for June 9, 2020. The filing deadline was January 25, 2020.

In the 2020 elections, Republicans increased their majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 58-41 and one independent officeholder to 76-24. The Republican majority increased to 77-23 afterJason Barrett switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in December 2020.^[9]

2018

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2018

Elections for theWest Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2018. Thesemi-closed primary election took place on May 8, 2018, and the general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline for major party candidates was January 27, 2018. The candidate filing deadline for third-party candidates was August 1, 2018. The candidate filing deadline for write-in candidates was September 18, 2018.^[10]

In the 2018 elections, the Republican majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates was reduced from 63-35 to 59-41.

2016

See also:West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2016

Elections for theWest Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 10, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 30, 2016. All100 seats in theWest Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in 2016.

Heading into the election, Republicans held a 64-36 majority. Republicans lost one seat in the election, giving them a 63-37 majority.

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in theWest Virginia State Legislature, thegovernor must select a replacement to fill the vacant seat.^[17][18]

The executive committee of the political party that held the seat before the vacancy can submit a list of three candidates to the governor. The list must be submitted to the governor within 15 days of the vacancy. The governor must make a selection within five days of receiving the list. If the committee does not submit a list within 15 days, the governor must appoint someone of the same political party as the person who left office. The person that is selected to fill the vacancy serves the remainder of the unfilled term.^[18]

See sources:West Virginia Const. Art. 4, Sec. 7 andWest Virginia Code Ann. §3-10-5

District map

See also:West Virginia state legislative districts

The state of West Virginia has 100 state House districts.

Use the interactive map below to find your district.

Redistricting

See also:Redistricting in West Virginia

In West Virginia, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are set by theWest Virginia State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by thegovernor.^[19]

TheWest Virginia Constitution requires that state Senate districts be "compact, contiguous, and bounded by county lines where doing so is not otherwise unlawful." There are no such requirements in place for congressional or state House districts.^[19]

2020

See also:Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2020 census

West Virginia enacted district maps for the Senate and House of Delegates on October 22, 2021.^[20] On September 30, 2021, the House Redistricting Committees released a single-member district map proposal for the West Virginia House of Delegates.^[21] The proposal passed the House on October 13, 2021, in a 79-20 vote and passed the Senate on October 18, 2021, in a 28-5 vote.^[22] On October 5, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee released five map proposals for West Virginia's State Senate districts.^[23] On October 11, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee voted to recommend Sen.Charles S. Trump IV's (R) 8th proposed senate map to the full Senate.^[24] The Senate approved a map that combined aspects of previous proposals in a 31-2 vote on October 19, 2021. The map, named after Sens. Trump,Tom Takubo (R),Eric Tarr (R)Patricia Rucker (R), andRobert Karnes (R) was approved by the House in a 72-19 vote. Both the House and Senate maps were signed into law by Gov.Jim Justice (R) on October 20, 2021.^[25] These maps took effect for West Virginia's 2022 legislative elections.

District map before and after 2020 redistricting

Below is the state House map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

2010

See also:Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2010 census

West Virginia received its local census data on March 23, 2011. The state grew 2.5 percent with most growth by county seen in the northeast part of the state. The state's largest cities showed decline: Charleston decreased by 3.8 percent, Huntington decreased by 4.5 percent, Parkersburg decreased by 4.9 percent, Morgantown grew by 10.6 percent, and Wheeling decreased by 9.3 percent.^[26]

The 2011 redistricting period was notable for the proposal of eliminating the state'smulti-member districts, which ultimately failed. The Legislature passed plans in early August; Gov.Ray Tomblin (D) vetoed the House plan on August 17, 2011, calling for another session to begin the next day. On August 21, the Legislature approved revisions to the House plan, and Gov. Tomblin signed the plan into law on Friday, September 2, 2011.

Sessions

Legislation

The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the West Virginia House of Delegates has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the House to the Senate and legislation that has already been approved by both chambers and signed by the governor. The table below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more. Click the bill number to read the bill text and see its voting history. Click the headings to sort the content. Rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them. Click the magnifying glass in the bottom left corner to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated byBillTrack50.

Dates of legislative sessions in West Virginia by year

2025

See also:2025 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2025 state legislative sessions

In 2025, the legislature was scheduled to convene on February 12, 2025, and adjourn on April 12, 2025.

Click [show] for past years' session dates.

2024 See also:2024 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2024 state legislative sessions In 2024, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 10, 2024, and adjourn on March 9, 2024. 2023 See also:2023 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2023 state legislative sessions In 2023, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 11, 2023, and adjourn on March 11, 2023. 2022 See also:2022 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2022 state legislative sessions In 2022, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12, 2022, and adjourn on March 12, 2022. 2021 See also:2021 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2021 state legislative sessions In 2021, the legislature was scheduled to convene on February 10, 2021, and adjourn on April 10, 2021. 2020 See also:2020 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2020 state legislative sessions In 2020, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 8, 2020, and adjourn on March 7, 2020. Effect of coronavirus pandemic See also:Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020 Coronavirus pandemic Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit Several state legislatures had their sessions impacted as a result of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. 2019 See also:2019 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2019 state legislative sessions In 2019, the legislature was in session from January 9, 2019, through March 9, 2019. 2018 See also:2018 West Virginia legislative session andDates of 2018 state legislative sessions In 2018, the legislature was in session from January 10, 2018, through March 10, 2018. To read about notable events and legislation from this session, clickhere. 2017 See also:Dates of 2017 state legislative sessions In 2017, the legislature was in session from February 8, 2017, through April 9, 2017. The legislature held a special session from May 4, 2017, to June 26, 2017. The legislature held its second special session from August 1 to September 15 over the Foxconn deal. 2016 See also:Dates of 2016 state legislative sessions In 2016, the legislature was in session from January 13 through March 12. The legislature held a special session from May 16 to June 14 over the state budget. The legislature held a second special session from September 18 to September 20 over flood recovery. 2015 See also:Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions In 2015, the legislature was in session from January 14 through March 14. Major issues in 2015 Major issues during the 2015 legislative session included education, infrastructure, business retention, and the state's budget. All four issues were to top the agenda for the last legislative session, but the state's water crisis took center stage instead. With the water issue under the control, lawmakers expected to be able to focus on the planned issues.[27] 2014 See also:Dates of 2014 state legislative sessions In 2014, the legislature was in session from January 8 through March 10. Major issues in 2014 Major issues during the 2014 legislative session included legislation that benefits families, expanding education, state energy, and developing the economy.[28] 2013 See also:Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions In 2013, the legislature was in session from January 9 to April 14. Major issues in 2013 Major issues included the availability of soft drinks in schools, repeal of the law allowing the sterilization of "mental defectives," and treatment of sexually-transmitted diseases.[29] 2012 See also:Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions In 2012, the legislature was in session from January 11 through March 10. 2011 See also:Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions In 2011, the legislature was in regular session from January 12 through March 18.[30] An August 1, 2011, special session was called by GovernorEarl Ray Tomblin (D) to pass legislation related to redistricting and other topics.[31] A second special session began on August 15, 2011, to replace the House of Delegates' redistricting plan. The House's plan, which passed during the first special session on August 1, had to be vetoed because of errors. The plan contained duplicate voter precinct populations for districts in both Kanawha and Morgan counties.[32] 2010 See also:Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions In 2010, the legislature was in regular session from January 13 to March 20. Additionally, the legislature met in special session from May 13 to May 19.[33][34]

About legislative sessions in West Virginia

TheTenth Amendment of theU.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.^[35] State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions,legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution establishes when theWest Virginia State Legislature, of which the House of Delegates is a part, is to be in session. Section 18 of Article VI states that the Legislature is to convene its regular session on the second Wednesday of January of each year. Once every four years, on the year in which theGovernor of West Virginia is inaugurated, the Legislature holds a thirty day recess after the first day of the session. This recess is designed to give the Governor time to prepare a budget.

Section 22 of Article VI limits regular sessions of the Legislature to sixty days. Regular sessions can be extended by a two-thirds vote of the members of both legislative houses.

Section 19 of Article VI gives theGovernor of West Virginia the power to convene the Legislature into special session. Section 19 also requires the Governor to convene a special session if it is requested by three-fifths of the members of each legislative house.

Legislative roles and procedures

Every state legislature throughout the country features its own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includesveto overrides,the role of the legislature in the state budget, andprocedures for filling membership vacancies.

Veto overrides

See also:Veto overrides in state legislatures

State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in West Virginia are listed below.

How many legislators are required to vote for an override? A majority of members in both chambers.

Are there other special rules?

Authority:Article VII, Section 14 of theWest Virginia Constitution.

Role in state budget

See also:West Virginia state budget and finances

West Virginiaon

Check outBallotpedia articles about policy in your state on:

Budgets •Civil liberties •Education •Elections •Energy •Environment •Healthcare •Pensions

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:^[37]

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies inAugust.
2. State agencies submit budget requests bySeptember 1.
3. Agency hearings are heldSeptember through November.
4. Thegovernor submits his or her proposed budget to theWest Virginia State Legislature on or before thesecond Wednesday in January. A newly elected governor has until thesecond Wednesday in February.
5. The legislature adopts a budget inMarch. A simple majority is required to pass a budget.

West Virginia is one of 44 states in which the governor hasline item veto authority.^[37][38]

TheWest Virginia State Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget. The budget must be balanced before the governor can sign it into law.^[37]

Committees

See also:List of committees in West Virginia state government

Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees. These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint.

• Standing committees are generally permanent committees, the names of which sometimes change from session to session.
• Select or special committees are temporary committees formed to deal with specific issues such as recent legislation, major public policy or proposals, or investigations.
• Joint committees are committees that feature members of both chambers of a legislature.

Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees. The West Virginia House of Delegates has 27 standing committees:

Constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process forreferring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states,initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are alsomany other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the West Virginia Constitution can be amended:

See also:Article XIV of the West Virginia Constitution andLaws governing ballot measures in West Virginia

TheWest Virginia Constitution can be modified throughconstitutional conventions andlegislatively referred constitutional amendments. West Virginia does not feature the power ofinitiative for eitherinitiated constitutional amendments orinitiated state statutes.

Legislature

See also:Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session for theWest Virginia State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 67 votes in theWest Virginia House of Representatives and 23 votes in theWest Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also:Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According toSection 1 of Article XIV of theWest Virginia Constitution, thestate Legislature can vote to refer a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote is required in the Legislature.

See also

Elections	West Virginia State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2024 West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2022 West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2020 West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2018	West Virginia State Legislature West Virginia State Senate Governor of West Virginia West Virginia Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2025 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2023 State legislative elections, 2022 State legislative elections, 2021 State legislative elections, 2020 State legislative elections, 2019	State government trifectas State government triplexes State executives State courts Ballot measures The State Legislative Decade

External links

• West Virginia House of Delegates

Footnotes

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