West Virginia Senate

West Virginia Senate
West Virginia Legislature

Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 14, 2015^[1]
Leadership
President of the Senate	Bill Cole (R) Since January 14, 2015
President pro Tempore	Donna J. Boley (R) Since January 14, 2015
Majority Leader	Mitch Carmichael (R) Since January 14, 2015
Minority Leader	Jeffrey V. Kessler (D) Since January 14, 2015
Structure
Seats	34

Political groups	Governing party Republican (18) Opposition party Democratic (16)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article VI, West Virginia Constitution
Salary	$20,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (17 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (17 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

Senate Chamber West Virginia State Capitol Charleston, West Virginia
Website
West Virginia State Legislature

The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are 17 senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms.

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 it 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. On January 14, 2015, Bill Cole was elected President.

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. The Senate President is 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

82nd Legislature (2015-2016)

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of the 81st Legislature	24	10	34	0

Beginning of the 82nd Legislature	16	18	34	0
Latest voting share	7001471000000000000♠47.1%	7001529000000000000♠52.9%	34	0

Leadership of the 82nd West Virginia Senate

Position	Name	Party	District	County
President of the Senate/Lieutenant Governor	Bill Cole	Republican	6	Mercer Co.
President Pro Tempore	Donna Boley	Republican	3	Pleasants Co.
Majority Leader	Mitch Carmichael	Republican	4	Jackson Co.
Minority Leader	Jeff Kessler	Democratic	2	Marshall Co.
Majority Whip	(vacant)	Republican		(vacant)
Minority Whip	John Unger	Democratic	16	Berkeley Co.

Members of the 82nd West Virginia Senate

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Counties represented
1	Ryan Ferns	Rep	Ohio	Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall (part)
1	Jack Yost	Dem	Brooke	Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall (part)
2	Kent Leonhardt	Rep	Monongalia	Calhoun, Doddridge, Marion (part), Marshall (part), Monongalia (part), Tyler, Gilmer
2	Jeffrey V. Kessler	Dem	Marshall
3	Donna J. Boley	Rep	Pleasants	Pleasants, Roane (part), Wirt, Wood
3	Bob Ashley	Rep	Roane	Pleasants, Roane (part), Wirt, Wood
4	Mitch Carmichael	Rep	Jackson	Jackson, Mason, Putnam (part), Roane (part)
4	Mike Hall	Rep	Putnam	Jackson, Mason, Putnam (part), Roane (part)
5	Mike Woelfel	Dem	Cabell	Cabell, Wayne (part)
5	Robert H. Plymale	Dem	Wayne	Cabell, Wayne (part)
6	Mark R. Maynard	Rep	Wayne	McDowell, Mercer (part), Mingo, Wayne (part)
6	Bill Cole	Rep	Mercer	McDowell, Mercer (part), Mingo, Wayne (part)
7	Ron Stollings	Dem	Boone	Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Wayne (part)
7	Art Kirkendoll^[7]^[8]	Dem	Logan	Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, Wayne (part)
8	Ed Gaunch	Rep	Putnam	Kanawha (part), Putnam (part)
8	Chris Walters	Rep	Kanawha	Kanawha (part), Putnam (part)
9	Jeff Mullins	Rep	Raleigh	Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell (part)
9	Sue Cline	Rep	Wyoming	Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell (part)
10	William Laird IV	Dem	Fayette	Fayette (part), Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers
10	Ronald F. Miller	Dem	Greenbrier	Fayette (part), Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers
11	Robert L. Karnes	Rep	Upshur	Grant (part), Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, Upshur, Webster
11	Greg Boso	Rep	Nicholas
12	Mike Romano	Dem	Braxton	Clay, Braxton, Gilmer (part), Lewis, Harrison
12	Douglas Facemire	Dem	Harrison	Clay, Braxton, Gilmer (part), Lewis, Harrison
13	Robert Beach	Dem	Monongalia	Marion (part), Monongalia (part)
13	Roman W. Prezioso, Jr.	Dem	Marion	Marion (part), Monongalia (part)
14	David Sypolt	Rep	Preston	Barbour, Grant (part), Hardy, Mineral (part), Monongalia (part), Preston, Taylor, Tucker
14	Bob Williams	Dem	Taylor
15	Craig Blair	Rep	Berkeley	Berkeley (part), Hampshire, Mineral, Morgan
15	Charles S. Trump IV	Rep	Morgan	Berkeley (part), Hampshire, Mineral, Morgan
16	Herb Snyder	Dem	Jefferson	Berkeley (part), Jefferson
16	John Unger	Dem	Berkeley	Berkeley (part), Jefferson
17	Corey Palumbo	Dem	Kanawha	Kanawha (part)
17	Tom Takubo	Rep	Kanawha	Kanawha (part)

Committees

Agriculture And Rural Development (11 members) – Dan Hall, Chairman
Banking and Insurance (13 members) – vacant
Confirmations (9 members) – Donna Boley, Chairman
Economic Development (14 members) – Tom Takubo, Chairman
Education (14 members) – Dave Spyolt, Chairman
Energy, Industry and Mining (13 members) – Mike Green, Chairman
Enrolled Bills (5 members) – Mark Maynard, Chairman
Finance (17 members) – Mike Hall, Chairman
Government Organization (14 members) – Craig Blair, Chairman
Health and Human Resources (13 members) – Ryan Ferns, Chairman
Interstate Cooperation (7 members) – Ed Gaunch, Chairman; (Senate President is ex officio co-chairperson)
Judiciary (17 members) – Charles Trump, Chairman
Labor (11 members) – Dan Hall, Chairman
Military (9 members) – Kent Leonhardt, Chairman
Natural Resources (13 members) – Robert L. Karnes, Chairman
Pensions (7 members) – Charles Trump, Chairman
Rules (10 members) – Bill Cole Ex officio Chairman as Senate President
Transportation and Infrastructure (9 members) – Chris Walters, Chairman

References

↑ "West Virginia Legislature". Retrieved January 8, 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 West Virginia Constitution, West Virginia Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
1 2 How a Bill Becomes Law, West Virginia State Legislature (accessed May 29, 2013)
↑ "West Virginia Senate Districts". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
↑ "West Virginia Constitution". West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
↑ http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/2011/1x/maps/senate/Enr%20SB%201006%20Map.pdf
↑ http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/wv/news3.shtml
↑ appointed to unexpired term caused by the election of Earl Ray Tomblin as Governor of West Virginia

External links

West Virginia Legislature – official website
Project Vote Smart – State Senate of West Virginia

Members of the West Virginia Senate

82nd State Legislature (2014–16)

President of the Senate: Bill Cole
President pro Tempore: Mitch Carmichael
Majority Leader: Mitch Carmichael
Minority Leader: Jeff Kessler

Ryan Ferns (R)
Jack Yost (D)
Jeff Kessler (D)
Kent Leonhardt (R)
Donna J. Boley (R)
Bob Ashley (R)
Mitch Carmichael (R)
Mike Hall (R)
Robert H. Plymale (D)
Mike Woelfel (D)
Bill Cole (R)
Mark R. Maynard (R)
Art Kirkendoll (D)
Ron Stollings (D)
Ed Gaunch (R)
Chris Walters (R)
Jeff Mullins (R)
Sue Cline (R)
William Laird IV (D)
Ronald F. Miller (D)
Greg Boso (R)
Robert L. Karnes (R)
Doug Facemire (D)
Mike Romano (D)
Robert Beach (D)
Roman Prezioso (D)
David Sypolt (R)
Bob Williams (D)
Craig Blair (R)
Charles S. Trump IV (R)
Herb Snyder (D)
John Unger (D)
Corey Palumbo (D)
Tom Takubo (R)

Legislatures of the United States

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State of West Virginia

Charleston (capital)

Topics	Cities Towns Villages Census-designated places History Geography Environment People Governors Delegations Colleges and universities Visitor attractions

Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics

Insignia	Coat of arms Flag Motto Seal

Regions	Allegheny Mountains Allegheny Plateau Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area Blue Ridge Charleston Metropolitan Area Cumberland Plateau Cumberland Mountains Eastern Panhandle Huntington Metropolitan Area North-Central West Virginia Northern Panhandle Potomac Highlands Ridge-and-valley Appalachians Shenandoah Valley Southern West Virginia Western West Virginia

Metro areas	Charleston Huntington Morgantown Martinsburg Parkersburg-Vienna Wheeling Winchester Weirton

Largest cities	Beckley Charelston Fairmont Huntington Martinsburg Morgantown Parkersburg Wheeling Weirton

Counties	Barbour Berkeley Boone Braxton Brooke Cabell Calhoun Clay Doddridge Fayette Gilmer Grant Greenbrier Hampshire Hancock Hardy Harrison Jackson Jefferson Kanawha Lewis Lincoln Logan Marion Marshall Mason McDowell Mercer Mineral Mingo Monongalia Monroe Morgan Nicholas Ohio Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Putnam Raleigh Randolph Ritchie Roane Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Upshur Wayne Webster Wetzel Wirt Wood Wyoming

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 134878848 LCCN: n81090522 GND: 131837-8

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