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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill HB 5064 Authorizes State Auditor to Dissolve Chronically Noncompliant Municipalities
Last action · February 6, 2026: To House Local GovernmentsSponsors: David Green and 9 others
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 5064 establishes as of a fiscal emergency and authorizes the West Virginia State Auditor to evaluate a municipality's financial recovery likelihood, initiate mandatory dissolution proceedings if recovery is unlikely, and act as a to wind up affairs.
Local governments that fail to submit required financial audits for three consecutive years face state intervention, potential charter forfeiture, and state-managed receivership, affecting local operational control and asset distribution.
- The West Virginia State Auditor's Office oversees local government accounting systems and fiscal emergency procedures across the state's municipalities. context
- State law governs local fiscal emergencies under Chapter 6, Article 9D and municipal dissolutions under Chapter 8, Article 35 of the Code of West Virginia. 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.
Municipalities
Municipalities are subject to mandatory state evaluation, fiscal emergency declarations for chronic audit noncompliance, potential dissolution proceedings, and asset receivership.
West Virginia State Auditor's Office
The State Auditor is granted new powers to evaluate municipal financial recovery, provide written delinquency notices, initiate dissolution, and act as a special receiver.
West Virginia Public Service Commission
The Commission retains its regulatory authority over municipal water and sewer systems during dissolution proceedings.
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 triggers a fiscal emergency under House Bill 5064?
What happens to a municipality if it cannot achieve financial recovery?
Who manages the assets and affairs of a dissolved municipality?
How are local water and sewer systems handled during a municipal dissolution?
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- Feb 6, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Local Governments
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Government Organization
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Government Organization
- Feb 3, 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
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of State Auditor Enforcement Powers
The legislation shifts oversight authority by explicitly linking multi-year audit failures to mandatory fiscal emergency declarations and the ultimate dissolution of municipal entities.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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