West Virginia Senate

The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. The Democrats gained two seats in the 2018 elections, bringing their total number of seats to 14, while the Republicans still hold a majority with 20.

West Virginia Senate
West Virginia Legislature
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 9, 2019[1]
Leadership
President of the Senate
Mitch Carmichael (R)
since January 11, 2017
President pro Tempore
Donna Boley (R)
since January 14, 2015
Majority Leader
Tom Takubo (R)
since November 26, 2018
Minority Leader
Roman Prezioso (D)
since January 11, 2017
Structure
Seats34
Political groups
  •   Republican (20)
  •   Democratic (14)
Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle VI, West Virginia Constitution
Salary$20,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 6, 2018
(17 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2020
(17 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
Senate Chamber
West Virginia State Capitol
Charleston, West Virginia
Website
wvlegislature.gov

Organization

Senators are elected for terms of four years that are staggered, meaning that only a portion of the 34 state senate seats are up every election.[2]

The state legislature meets on the second Wednesday of January each year and conducts a 60-day regular session.[2]

Legislative process

Unlike most state senates, the West Virginia Senate can introduce revenue bills.[2] Bills must undergo three readings in each house before being sent to the governor.[2] Bills are drafted by the Office of Legislative Services or legislative staff counsel, reviewed by the sponsor of the bill and submitted for introduction.[3] Bills are assigned to committees that make recommendations about a bill in the form of a committee report.[3]

Bills approved in both the West Virginia Senate and West Virginia House of Delegates are then submitted to the governor, who has the power to sign them into law or veto them.[2] The state legislature can override the veto, unless they have already adjourned.[2]

Districts

The state's districting system is unique in the United States. Prior to the 2010 Census the state's most populous county, Kanawha County constituted two "superimposed" districts. In practical effect, this meant that Kanawha County was a single district electing two members every two years. The remaining 54 counties of the state were divided into fifteen districts, with county lines not respected in most cases.[4]

Under the unique rule, no multi-county district (and every district except Kanawha's is a multi-county district) may have more than one senator from the same county,[5] no matter the population. This means, for example, that one of the 5th District's two senators must reside in Cabell County and the other must reside in the tiny portion of Wayne County that's inside the 5th District, even though Cabell County has far more people than the portion of Wayne County that is part of the 5th District. However, both senators are elected by everybody within the district, not just by the people of the county in which the senators reside.

Responding to the 2010 Census the Senate redistricted itself. Kanawha County was divided for the first time in the Senate's history, with the northern and western portions joining a part of Putnam County as the 8th District and the remainder of the county constituting the 17th district on its own. This reduced the number of Senators from Kanawha County from four to three, as one of the 8th's must be a resident of Putnam.

The remainder of the state was redistricted, reflecting the continuing shift of the state's population to the Eastern Panhandle and to Monongalia County, however no incumbents were placed in districts where they had to run against one another, except for the Kanawha situation. Because senators are elected for four-year terms, the redistricting did not come fully into effect until after the 2014 election.[6]

Senate President
Main article: President of the West Virginia Senate

The Senate elects its own president from its membership. Mitch Carmichael is currently the President of the West Virginia Senate.

While the West Virginia Constitution does not create or even mention the title of lieutenant governor, West Virginia Code 6A-1-4 creates this designation for the Senate President, who stands first in the line of succession to the office of governor. As stated in Article 7 Section 16 of the constitution: "In case of the death, conviction or impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation, or other disability of the governor, the president of the Senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed." However, the Senate President may not always serve the remainder of the term as the constitution also states: "Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place to fill the vacancy."

Current Composition

84th Legislature (2019-2020)
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
Beginning of the 82nd Legislature 18 16 34 0
End of the 82nd Legislature
Beginning of the 83rd Legislature 22 12 34 0
End of the 83rd Legislature
Beginning of the 84th Legislature 20 14 34 0
Latest voting share 58.82% 41.18%

Leadership of the 84th West Virginia Senate
PositionNamePartyDistrictCounty
President of the Senate/Lieutenant GovernorMitch CarmichaelRepublican4Jackson Co.
President Pro TemporeDonna BoleyRepublican3Pleasants Co.
Majority LeaderTom TakuboRepublican17Kanawha Co.
Minority LeaderRoman PreziosoDemocratic13Marion Co.
Majority WhipRyan WeldRepublican1Brooke Co.
Minority WhipCorey PalumboDemocratic17Kanawha Co.

Members of the 84th West Virginia Senate
DistrictSenatorPartyResidenceCounties represented[7]
1 William J. Ihlenfeld II Democratic Wheeling Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall (part)
Ryan Weld Republican Wellsburg
2 Charles H. Clements Republican New Martinsville Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer (part), Marion (part),
Marshall (part), Monongalia (part), Tyler, Ritchie, Wetzel
Mike Maroney Republican Glen Dale
3 Mike Azinger Republican Vienna Pleasants, Roane (part), Wirt, Wood
Donna Boley Republican St. Marys
4 Eric Tarr Republican Scott Depot Jackson, Mason, Putnam (part), Roane (part)
Mitch Carmichael Republican Ripley
5 Mike Woelfel Democratic Huntington Cabell, Wayne (part)
Robert H. Plymale Democratic Huntington
6 Mark R. Maynard Republican Genoa McDowell (part), Mercer, Mingo (part), Wayne (part)
Chandler Swope Republican Bluefield
7 Ron Stollings Democratic Madison Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo (part), Wayne (part)
Paul Hardesty[note 1] Democratic Holden
8 Richard Lindsay Democratic Charleston Kanawha (part), Putnam (part)
Glenn Jeffries Democratic Red House
9 Rollan Roberts Republican Beaver Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell (part)
Sue Cline Republican Brenton
10 Stephen Baldwin Democratic Ronceverte Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers
Kenny Mann Republican Ballard
11 Bill Hamilton Republican Buckhannon Grant (part), Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas,
Randolph, Upshur, Webster
John Pitsenbarger[note 2] Republican Nallen
12 Mike Romano Democratic Bridgeport Clay, Braxton, Gilmer (part), Lewis, Harrison
Doug Facemire Democratic Sutton
13 Bob Beach Democratic Morgantown Marion (part), Monongalia (part)
Roman Prezioso Democratic Fairmont
14 David Sypolt Republican Kingwood Barbour, Grant (part), Hardy, Mineral (part),
Monongalia (part), Preston, Taylor, Tucker
Randy Smith Republican Thomas
15 Charles S. Trump Republican Berkeley Springs Berkeley (part), Hampshire, Mineral (part), Morgan
Craig Blair Republican Martinsburg
16 John Unger Democratic Martinsburg Berkeley (part), Jefferson
Patricia Rucker Republican Harpers Ferry
17 Tom Takubo Republican Charleston Kanawha (part)
Corey Palumbo Democratic Charleston
  1. Hardesty sworn in January 18, 2019. Appointed by Governor Justice to replace Richard Ojeda, who resigned to run for president.
  2. Pitsenbarger appointed on October 17, 2019, following the resignation of Greg Boso.

Committees

Past composition of the Senate
Main article: Political party strength in West Virginia
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See also
  • List of Presidents of the West Virginia Senate

References
  1. "West Virginia Legislature". Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  2. West Virginia Constitution, West Virginia Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
  3. How a Bill Becomes Law, West Virginia State Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
  4. "West Virginia Senate Districts". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  5. "West Virginia Constitution". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  6. http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/2011/1x/maps/senate/Enr%20SB%201006%20Map.pdf
  7. "Senate District Maps - 2010 Plan". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved July 7, 2016.

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