West Virginia 2025 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 3 R · 2 D cosponsors

SB 139 — Relating to filling of vacancies in Legislature

Last action — To House Judiciary

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

41 added · 38 removed

Plain-language change summary

The newly amended version of Bill SB 139 now includes a requirement that political parties follow their own established processes for submitting a list of candidates to the Governor when filling legislative vacancies. Additionally, it specifies that individuals must live in the district they would represent for at least one year before they can be appointed. These changes aim to ensure a more structured and representative process for selecting individuals to fill legislative roles, promoting accountability and adherence to party regulations.

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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Introduced Senate Bill 139 By Senator Hamilton [Introduced February 12, 2025;
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 139 BY SENATORS HAMILTON, WOELFEL, MORRIS, ARCIA, AND BARTLETT [Reported February 18, 2025, from the Committee on the Judiciary] CS for SB 139 A BILL to amend and reenact §3-10-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the filling of vacancies in the Legislature;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary] Intr SB 139 2025R1364 A BILL to amend and reenact §3-10-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the filling of vacancies in the Legislature;
requiring that county and district political parties submitting a list of legally qualified persons to the Governor to fill a vacancy in the Legislature follow the process established by the state executive committeeof that political party;
(b) In the case of a member of the House of Delegates, if the member was elected to a multi-county delegate district the list shall be submitted by the party executive committee of the delegate district in which the vacating member resided at the time of his or her election or appointment.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the process to compose and submit the list submitted by the political party of the person holding the office immediately preceding the vacancy shall be governed by the rules of the state executive committee of that political party.
(b) In the case of a member of the House of Delegates, if the member was elected to a multi-county delegate district the list shall be submitted by the party executive committee of the delegate district in which the vacating member resided at the time of his or her election or CS for SB 139 appointment.
(c) In the case of a state senator, if the member was elected to a multi-county senatorial district the list shall be submitted by the party executive committee of the state senatorial district in Intr SB 139 2025R1364 which the vacating senator resided at the time of his or her election or appointment.
(c) In the case of a state senator, if the member was elected to a multi-county senatorial district the list shall be submitted by the party executive committee of the state senatorial district in which the vacating senator resided at the time of his or her election or appointment.
(d) No person shall be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or as a member of the House of Delegates who has not for one year preceding the appointment been a resident within the district he or she will represent.
(d) No person may be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or as a member of the House of Delegates who has not for one year preceding the appointment been a resident within the district he or she will represent.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to the require residency of a person within the district or county he or she will represent for one year prior to any appointment to a vacancy in the office of State Senator or as a member of the House of Delegates.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Action History

  1. To House Judiciary

  2. To Judiciary

  3. Introduced in House

  4. House received Senate message

  5. Ordered to House

  6. Passed Senate (Roll No. 16)

  7. Read 3rd time

  8. On 3rd reading

  9. Read 2nd time

  10. On 2nd reading

  11. Read 1st time

  12. On 1st reading

  13. Committee substitute reported

  14. To Judiciary

  15. Introduced in Senate

  16. To Judiciary

  17. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Passage

Passed 32 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 28001
Unaffiliated 2001
Democrat 2000
Total 32002
% of votes cast 94%0%0%6%
How each member voted (34)
Member Party Vote
STUART — Not Voting
BOLEY — Yea
MR PRESIDENT — Yea
Joey Garcia Democrat Yea
Mike Woelfel Democrat Yea
Amy Grady Republican Yea
Anne B. Charnock Republican Yea
Ben Queen Republican Yea
Bill Hamilton Republican Yea
Brian Helton Republican Yea
Charles H. Clements Republican Yea
Chris Rose Republican Yea
Craig A. Hart Republican Yea
Darren Thorne Republican Yea
Eric Tarr Republican Yea
Glenn Jeffries Republican Yea
Jack Woodrum Republican Yea
Jason Barrett Republican Yea
Jay Taylor Republican Yea
Laura Wakim Chapman Republican Yea
Mark R. Maynard Republican Yea
Mike Azinger Republican Not Voting
Mike Oliverio Republican Yea
Patricia Rucker Republican Yea
Patrick Martin Republican Yea
Robbie Morris Republican Yea
Rollan A. Roberts Republican Yea
Rupie Phillips Republican Yea
Ryan Weld Republican Yea
Scott Fuller Republican Yea
T. Kevan Bartlett Republican Yea
Tom Takubo Republican Yea
Tom Willis Republican Yea
Vince Deeds Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 139?
SB 139 is sponsored by Mike Woelfel (Democrat), Robbie Morris (Republican), T. Kevan Bartlett (Republican), Joey Garcia (Democrat), and Bill Hamilton (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 139?
This bill died with 2025 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 139?
Track SB 139 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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