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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Requires Forfeiture of Inactive Special Revenue Funds to General Revenue
Last action · January 29, 2026: To House RevenueSponsors: Marty Gearheart and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 4427 requires s with no activity of receiving or disbursing funds to forfeit portions of their balances to the General Revenue Fund based on the duration of inactivity. Accounts inactive for an unspecified period forfeit 25 percent, those inactive for over one year but less than two years forfeit 50 percent, and those inactive for over two years forfeit 100 percent. The measure also prohibits state officials and employees from making expenditures from these affected special revenue accounts pending the forfeiture and repayment.
State spending units holding inactive special revenue balances face a mandatory sweep of 25 to 100 percent of those funds into the state's General Revenue Fund, directly altering available agency resources and freezing ongoing spending authority on those accounts.
- State special revenue accounts hold dedicated fees, taxes, or charges earmarked for specific public programs rather than general state operations. context
- House Bill 4427 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature by Delegates Gearheart, Canterbury, Brooks, and Butler. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
State Spending Units
Units holding unencumbered special revenue accounts with no recent financial activity must surrender 25 to 100 percent of those balances to the General Revenue Fund and face an immediate prohibition on disbursements from those accounts.
State Treasurer
The State Treasurer reviews deposits, proposes legislative rules for deposits and imprest funds, audits imprest funds annually, and may develop a centralized receipts processing center.
General Revenue Fund
Receives forfeited funds transferred from inactive unencumbered special revenue accounts.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to special revenue accounts that have been inactive?
Can agencies continue to spend from an inactive special revenue account while forfeiture is pending?
Are federal funds subject to these general revenue forfeitures?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
5 actions- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Revenue
- Jan 16, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Finance
- Jan 16, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 16, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Finance
- Jan 16, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Sweep of Inactive Special Revenue Accounts
The legislation establishes a tiered, automatic forfeiture mechanism (25%, 50%, 100%) for unencumbered special revenue accounts based on durations of zero activity.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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