Senate finance panel rejects amendment to lift county official raises to 10%, approves 3% increase

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee on March 7 considered a bill to increase pay for county officials and rejected an amendment that would have raised the increase to 10%, then approved a committee substitute that sets a 3% increase and sent the measure to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.

Counsel told the committee the original committee substitute set a 12% increase for county elected officials — including commissioners, sheriffs, county clerks, circuit clerks, assessors and prosecuting attorneys — and that a later committee substitute for the committee substitute set the pay increase at 3% and removed previously proposed floors and ceilings for future raises. The committee substitute sets the effective date for the increase at 07/01/2026.

Senator from Wetzel offered an amendment seeking to raise the immediate pay increase to 10%, citing staffing shortages for prosecutors and local difficulty retaining lawyers. "My biggest concern right now is our prosecutors," the senator from Wetzel said. "A lot of counties are having trouble ... I would request that that go to 10%, please."

Counsel clarified the practical effect of the Wetzel amendment: "It would be a mandatory pay increase," counsel said, meaning counties would be required to provide the increase regardless of local budget capacity. The senator from Harrison opposed the amendment and urged deference to local control, arguing some counties would be placed in an "awkward bind" by a mandatory increase.

The committee voted on the Wetzel amendment and the chair announced the amendment was rejected. The committee then agreed to the committee substitute for the committee substitute (the 3% increase) and voted to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.

The committee record shows the measure will move to the full Senate for further consideration; no floor vote totals were recorded in the committee transcript.

Next step: the bill, as reported, awaits scheduling and action by the full Senate.