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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill HB 4785 Increases Court-Appointed Attorney Pay and Mandates Guardian Ad Litem Reports
Last action · January 23, 2026: To House JudiciarySponsor: Adam Burkhammer
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 4785 raises compensation rates for court-appointed s and paralegals, and beginning December 1, 2026, requires Public Defender Services to submit annual reports on legal services to legislative and judicial bodies.
Changes hourly pay floors and reporting metrics for attorneys representing indigent clients and children in state courts, altering financial compensation and administrative oversight for public defense work.
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.
Panel attorneys
Panel attorneys receive updated minimum hourly compensation rates of not less than $100 per hour and must adhere to specific recordkeeping and voucher submission timelines.
Guardians ad litem
Attorneys serving as guardians ad litem are subject to new aggregate data tracking regarding their casework, visits, and multidisciplinary team meetings for annual reporting.
Public Defender Services
Public Defender Services is required to adjust attorney compensation minimums, publish rates annually by June 15, and compile and submit new annual reports starting December 1, 2026.
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
When does the new reporting requirement for guardians ad litem begin?
Which case types take priority for voucher processing?
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
4 actions- Jan 23, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Judiciary
- Jan 23, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 23, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Judiciary then Finance
- Jan 23, 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 Guardian Ad Litem Metrics
The bill introduces specific tracking requirements for guardian ad litem activities, including multidisciplinary team meetings, visit frequencies, and billed hours, to be reported annually starting in December 2026.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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