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2019 West Virginia legislative session

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West Virginia State Legislature

Seal of West Virginia.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 9, 2019
Session end:   March 9, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Mitch Carmichael (R)
House Speaker:  Roger Hanshaw (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Tom Takubo (R)
House: Amy Summers (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Roman Prezioso (D)
House: Timothy Miley (D)
Structure
Members:  34 (Senate), 100 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art VI, West Virginia Constitution
Salary:   $20,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
House
Redistricting:  West Virginia Legislature has control via special session

West Virginia convened its legislative session on January 9, 2019, and legislators remained in session until March 9, 2019. Republicans had a veto-proof majority this legislative session, as they did in 2018 (a simple majority in each chamber of the West Virginia Legislature is required to override vetoes). Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 20-14 majority in the Senate and a 59-41 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Republicans held veto-proof majorities in the state House and Senate.
  • West Virginia was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • West Virginia's governor was Republican Jim Justice.


    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    West Virginia was one of 22 Republican trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    West Virginia was one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof majority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the West Virginia State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    West Virginia State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 14
         Republican Party 20
    Total 34

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the West Virginia State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the West Virginia State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    West Virginia State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 32 26 25 29 28 24 21 23 28 27 24 16 12 14
    Republicans 2 8 9 5 6 10 13 11 6 7 10 18 22 20

    After the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 32-2 majority. Republicans gained six seats in the 1994 elections, moving the chamber to 26-8 in favor of Democrats. From 1994 to 2012, the partisan balance of the state Senate would fluctuate, with minor gains being shared by Democrats and Republicans from election to election. In 2014, Republicans gained eight seats and took control of the chamber. The GOP picked up another two seats total in the 2016 and 2018 elections, resulting in a 20-14 Republican majority.


    West Virginia House of Delegates

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 41
         Republican Party 59
    Total 100

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the West Virginia House of Delegates shifted in favor of the Republican Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the West Virginia House of Delegates following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    West Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 79 69 74 75 75 68 68 72 79 65 54 36 37 41
    Republicans 21 31 26 25 25 32 32 28 21 35 46 64 63 59

    After the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 79-21 majority. Republicans began moving the partisan balance of the state House in their favor in 2010. The GOP picked up 25 seats between the 2010 and 2012 elections. In 2014, Republicans gained 18 seats and took control of the chamber. Democrats gained five seats total in the 2016 and 2018 elections, resulting in a 59-41 Republican majority.


    Leadership in 2019

    West Virginia State Senate

    West Virginia House of Delegates

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria yet in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in West Virginia state government

    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 41 standing committees in West Virginia's state government, including 5 joint legislative committees, 18 state Senate committees, and 18 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

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

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

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

    The West Virginia Constitution can be modified through constitutional conventions and legislatively referred constitutional amendments. West Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session for the West Virginia State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 67 votes in the West Virginia House of Representatives and 23 votes in the West 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 to Section 1 of Article XIV of the West Virginia Constitution, the state Legislature can vote to refer a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote is required in the Legislature.


    Historical partisan control

    West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
    Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Seven years of Republican trifectas

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D[1] R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections West Virginia State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Flag of West Virginia.png
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Gov. Jim Justice switched his registration to Republican on August 4, 2017.
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