The Senate Judiciary Committee met on Wednesday afternoon and advanced six bills.
Senate Bill 643 would discontinue the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Public Campaign Financing Program, which hasn’t been used since the year 2016.
This program was designed to provide public funds for judicial campaigns and would be fully repealed under the bill. There is currently $22,832.88 left in the funding of the program.
Senator Eric J. Tarr (R – Putnam, 04) proposed a conceptual amendment that the remaining funding in the program would be sent to the general revenue fund, and when at zero expire the funding for the program.
The amendment was adopted.
The bill, as amended, was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
Senate Bill 538 would increase compensation for panel attorneys who represent indigent clients through West Virginia’s Public Defender Services.
Panel attorneys performing legal services, such as awaiting a hearing or trial before a judicial officer, and travel will be compensated at a rate of not less than $100 per hour.
The bill would also require annual reports on guardian ad litem services in child abuse and neglect cases, tracking workload, time spent with children, case length, and court involvement without disclosing privileged information.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
Senate Bill 800 would update West Virginia’s jury selection by standardizing how juror lists are created, maintained, and reviewed across all counties.
The bill clarifies court and clerk responsibilities, revises how jury lists are compiled using voter, DMV, and tax records, and removes certain selection methods to standardize procedures statewide.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
Senate Bill 793 would clarify courthouse closure on certain days, days considered a legal holiday, and how court deadlines and legal proceedings are handled when they fall on legal holidays, emergency closures, or designated days of local significance.
Days that the bill would consider legal holidays contain but aren’t limited to:
- January: 1 New Year’s Day
- The third Monday of January: Martin Luther King’s Birthday
- The third Monday of February: President’s Day
- The last Monday in May: Memorial Day
- June 20: West Virginia Day
The bill also defines “day of local significance” as a date on which a locally observed special occasion, such as a fair, festival, parade, or celebration, makes the general transaction of court business in that county impractical.
Senate Bill 792 would eliminate the requirement that the Supreme Court of Appeals supply magistrates with a hard copy of the West Virginia code.
Magistrates would still have access to digital versions of the code or would have to obtain their own hard copy. This would reduce state printing costs and create paperless access to court resources.
The bill would save $313,000 by reducing the costs from no longer having to print the WV code.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
Senate Bill 796 would repeal a section of state law that requires the distribution of official West Virginia court reports. The West Virginia court reports would include written opinions and rulings, case summaries, legal citations, dockets, court orders, and annotations or headnotes.
The information provided in the WV court reports would remain accessible in online databases, public court websites, law libraries, and clerk offices.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
