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2021 West Virginia legislative session

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2021 West Virginia legislative session
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General information
Session start:    February 10, 2021

Session end:    April 10, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Craig Blair (R)

House Speaker
Roger Hanshaw (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Tom Takubo (R)
House: Amy Summers (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Stephen Baldwin (D)
House: Douglas Skaff, Jr. (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the West Virginia State Legislature was scheduled to convene on February 10 and adjourn on April 10.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 23-11 majority in the Senate and a 76-24 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, West Virginia was one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The West Virginia State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, West Virginia was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the West Virginia state House and state Senate.
  • West Virginia was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • West Virginia's governor was Republican Jim Justice.

    • Leadership in 2021

    West Virginia State Senate

    West Virginia House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    West Virginia was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 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 also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority 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 2021 legislative session.

    West Virginia State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 11
         Republican Party 23
    Total 34

    West Virginia House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 24
         Republican Party 76
    Total 100

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in West Virginia after the 2020 census, click here.

    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 2021 legislative session, there were 41 standing committees' in West Virginia's state government, including five 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

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of West Virginia.

    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

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

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

    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 five seats between the 2016 and 2020 elections, resulting in a 23-11 Republican majority.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 79 69 74 75 75 68 68 72 79 65 54 36 37 41 24
    Republicans 21 31 26 25 25 32 32 28 21 35 46 64 63 59 76

    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. Republicans increased their majority to 76-24 in the 2020 elections.

    See also

    Elections West Virginia State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    West Virginia State Flag-Close Up.jpg
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    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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