West Virginia Bill Phases in Higher Daily Pay and Mileage Reimbursements for Jurors

Original title: Phasing in increase in daily rate of juror pay

Last action · February 20, 2026: To House FinanceSponsors: Bill Hamilton and 14 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Proposed

Official description

Phasing in increase in daily rate of juror pay

Why it matters

The measure directly alters the daily out-of-pocket compensation for citizens serving on state court juries and changes how court-assessed jury costs are collected and deposited into state funds.

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.

Directly affected

Petit jurors

Petit jurors receive higher minimum and maximum daily expense reimbursement rates and mileage compensation.

Directly affected

Grand jurors

Grand jurors receive identical daily reimbursement and mileage increases as petit jurors.

Key Facts

Effective July 1, 2026, juror daily expense reimbursement increases from a range of $15-$40 to a range of $25-$70, set at the discretion of the circuit court or chief judge.
Effective July 1, 2027, the juror daily reimbursement rate increases further to a range of not less than $40 nor more than $100.
Jurors are to be paid mileage for travel expenses to and from the courthouse at the rate set by the Secretary of the Department of Administration or commissioner of finance and administration.
Juror reimbursement payments are based on submitted vouchers and paid out of the State Treasury.

Show all 9 facts

Grand jurors receive the same daily reimbursement and mileage adjustments as petit jurors.
Courts must assess a jury cost equal to the actual cost of jurors' service in scheduled matters, subject to specific rules for magistrate and circuit courts.
For magistrate court cases where the jury request occurred prior to July 1, 2007, the assessed jury cost remains $200.
Jury costs collected in magistrate cases exceeding $200 are deposited into the State's General Revenue Fund.
Remaining balances of collected jury costs are split evenly between the Parent Education and Mediation Fund and the Domestic Violence Legal Services Fund.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who determines the exact daily rate within the statutory pay range?

The exact daily rate within the allowed statutory range is set at the discretion of the circuit court or the chief judge of the circuit court.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in House committee.

Procedural history

17 actions

Feb 20, 2026HouseCommittee
To House Finance
Feb 20, 2026HouseCommittee
To Finance
Feb 20, 2026HouseIntroduced
Introduced in House
Feb 20, 2026House
House received Senate message
Feb 19, 2026Senate
Ordered to House
Feb 19, 2026SenateFloor
Passed Senate (Roll No. 146)

Show 11 earlier actions

Feb 19, 2026Senate
Read 3rd time
Feb 19, 2026Senate
On 3rd reading
Feb 18, 2026Senate
Read 2nd time
Feb 18, 2026Senate
On 2nd reading
Feb 17, 2026Senate
Read 1st time
Feb 17, 2026Senate
On 1st reading
Feb 16, 2026Senate
Committee substitute reported
Jan 21, 2026SenateCommittee
To Finance
Jan 21, 2026SenateIntroduced
Introduced in Senate
Jan 21, 2026SenateCommittee
To Finance
Jan 21, 2026SenateIntroduced
Filed 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 →