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SB 551WEST VIRGINIASession 2026State Billdead
Did Not Advance

West Virginia Bill Restores Voting Rights to Faculty, Student, and Employee Board Members

Original title: Restoring voting rights to faculty, student, and employee members of institutional boards of governors

Last action · January 21, 2026: To EducationSponsors: Mike Woelfel and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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

What This Bill Proposed

Senate Bill 551 grants full voting rights to faculty, student, and staff representatives serving on institutional boards of governors across West Virginia state colleges and universities.

Why it matters

Changes internal university governance by allowing campus constituent groups to formally cast votes on board decisions rather than serving solely in an advisory, nonvoting capacity.

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

Faculty members

Faculty representatives on institutional boards of governors gain voting rights on board decisions.

Directly affected

Student body members

Student representatives on institutional boards of governors gain voting rights on board decisions.

Directly affected

Classified and non-classified employees

Employee representatives on institutional boards of governors gain voting rights on board decisions.

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

Who does this bill affect?
The bill affects faculty members, students, and who serve as elected representatives on the boards of governors of West Virginia state higher education institutions.
What is the current status of faculty, student, and employee board members?
Under current statute, these campus representatives serve as nonvoting, advisory members.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

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

Procedural history

4 actions
  1. Jan 21, 2026SenateCommittee
    To Education
  2. Jan 21, 2026SenateIntroduced
    Introduced in Senate
  3. Jan 21, 2026SenateCommittee
    To Education then Judiciary
  4. 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 →

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

Mike WoelfelSenateDemocraticPrimary sponsor
Joey GarciaSenateDemocraticSponsor

Connected Entities

Mountwest Community and Technical College, West Virginia Northern Community College, Bluefield State University and 18 more
OrganizationMountwest Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationWest Virginia Northern Community College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationBluefield State University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationWest Virginia State University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationShepherd University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
PersonJoey Garcia“Cosponsor of Senate Bill 551”Map →
OrganizationGlenville State University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationBridgeValley Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationSouthern West Virginia Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationMarshall University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationNew River Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationPierpont Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationWest Virginia University at Parkersburg“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationBlue Ridge Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationEastern West Virginia Community and Technical College“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
PersonMike Woelfel“Senator who introduced Senate Bill 551”Map →
OrganizationWest Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationFairmont State University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationWest Liberty University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationConcord University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →
OrganizationWest Virginia University“Institution with a board of governors”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.wvlegislature.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
  • Controversy40
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz30
    Current news / social attention level

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