West Virginia House of Delegates | |
|---|---|
| 87th West Virginia Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 8, 2025 |
| Leadership | |
Roger Hanshaw (R) since August 29, 2018 | |
Speaker pro tempore | Matthew Rohrbach (R) since January 8, 2025 |
Majority Leader | Pat McGeehan (R) since January 8, 2025 |
Minority Leader | Sean Hornbuckle (D) since August 8, 2023 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 100 |
 Seat display Map display | |
Political groups | Majority Republican (91) Minority Democratic (9) |
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 5, 2024 |
Next election | November 3, 2026 |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| House of Delegates Chamber West Virginia State Capitol Charleston,West Virginia | |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheWest Virginia House of Delegates is thelower house of theWest Virginia Legislature inWest Virginia. Only three states—Maryland,Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to theirlower house as the House of Delegates.
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]
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 theWest 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]
| 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 |
| 86th Legislature End | 11 | 89 | 100 | 0 |
| 87th Legislature Start | 9 | 91 | 100 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 9.1% | 91.9% | ||
The House is composed of 100 members elected for two-year terms.
Prior to the 1970 Census, districts always respected county lines, with each district consisting of either a single entire county, or several entire counties. Following the redistricting cycle of the 1970 census, the state began to use smaller geographic areas.
Following 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. The state was divided 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 ofMonongalia 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.[3]
TheSpeaker of the House is selected by its members. In contrast to the tradition of theSpeaker 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.
| Position | Name | Party | District | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Roger Hanshaw | Republican | 62nd | Clay |
| Speakerpro tempore | Matthew Rohrbach | Republican | 98th | Cabell |
| Majority Leader | Pat McGeehan | Republican | 1st | Brooke,Hancock |
| Minority Leader | Sean Hornbuckle | Democratic | 25th | Cabell |
| Majority Whip | Marty Gearheart | Republican | 37th | Mercer |
| Minority Whip | Shawn Fluharty | Democratic | 5th | Ohio |
| Committee | Chair | Minority Chair | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Joe Ellington | Anitra Hamilton | |
| Energy and Public Works | Bill Anderson | Evan Hansen | |
| Finance | Vernon Criss | John Williams | |
| Government Organization | Chris Phillips | Kayla Young | |
| Health and Human Resources | Evan Worrell | Mike Pushkin | |
| Judiciary | JB Akers | Shawn Fluharty | |
| Rules | Roger Hanshaw | Vacant | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
38°20′9.8″N81°36′41.5″W / 38.336056°N 81.611528°W /38.336056; -81.611528
