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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2023 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 3330
By Delegates Hanshaw (Mr. Speaker) and C. Pritt
(By Request)
[Introduced February 08, 2023; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend and reenact §51-2A-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to creating family court circuits and assigning the number of family court judges in each family court circuit to be elected in the 2024 election.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) Beginning on January 1, 2009, 45 family court judges shall serve throughout the state, allocated among a total of 27 family court circuits as follows:
(1) The counties of Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio shall constitute the first family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(2) The counties of Marshall, Wetzel, and Tyler shall constitute the second family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(3) The counties of Pleasants and Wood shall constitute the third family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(4) The counties of Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, and Ritchie shall constitute the fourth family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(5) The counties of Mason, Jackson, and Wirt shall constitute the fifth family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(6) The county of Cabell shall constitute the sixth family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(7) The county of Wayne shall constitute the seventh family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(8) The county of Mingo shall constitute the eighth family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(9) The county of Logan shall constitute the ninth family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(10) The counties of Lincoln and Boone shall constitute the10th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(11) The county of Kanawha shall constitute the 11th family court circuit and have five family court judges;
(12) The counties of McDowell and Mercer shall constitute the 12th family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(13) The counties of Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming shall constitute the 13th family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(14) The county of Fayette shall constitute the 14th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(15) The counties of Greenbrier and Monroe shall constitute the 15th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(16) The counties of Clay and Nicholas shall constitute the 16th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(17) The counties of Braxton, Lewis and Upshur shall constitute the 17th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(18) The counties of Harrison and Doddridge shall constitute the 18th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(19) The county of Marion shall constitute the 19th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(20) The counties of Monongalia and Preston shall constitute the 20th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(21) The counties of Barbour and Taylor shall constitute the 21st family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(22) The counties of Tucker and Randolph shall constitute the 22nd family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(23) The counties of Mineral, Hampshire and Morgan shall constitute the 23rd family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(24) The counties of Berkeley and Jefferson shall constitute the 24th family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(25) The counties of Hardy, Pendleton and Grant shall constitute the 25th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(26) The county of Putnam shall constitute the 26th family court circuit and have one family court judge; and
(27) The counties of Webster and Pocahontas shall constitute the 27th family court circuit and have one family court judge.
(b) Beginning on January 1, 2017, 47th family court judges shall serve throughout the state, allocated among a total of 27 family court circuits as follows:
(1) The counties of Brooke, Hancock, and Ohio shall constitute the first family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(2) The counties of Marshall, Wetzel, and Tyler shall constitute the second family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(3) The counties of Pleasants and Wood shall constitute the third family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(4) The counties of Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer and Ritchie shall constitute the fourth family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(5) The counties of Mason, Jackson, and Wirt shall constitute the fifth family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(6) The county of Cabell shall constitute the sixth family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(7) The county of Wayne shall constitute the seventh family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(8) The county of Mingo shall constitute the eighth family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(9) The county of Logan shall constitute the ninth family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(10) The counties of Lincoln and Boone shall constitute the 10th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(11) The county of Kanawha shall constitute the 11th family court circuit and have five family court judges;
(12) The counties of McDowell and Mercer shall constitute the 12th family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(13) The counties of Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming shall constitute the 13th family court circuit and have three family court judges;
(14) The county of Fayette shall constitute the 14th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(15) The counties of Greenbrier and Monroe shall constitute the 15th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(16) The counties of Clay and Nicholas shall constitute the 16th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(17) The counties of Braxton, Lewis and Upshur shall constitute the 17th family court circuit and have one family court judge: Provided, That effective January 1, 2025, the counties of Lewis and Upshur shall constitute the 17th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(18) The counties of Harrison and Doddridge shall constitute the 18th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(19) The county of Marion shall constitute the 19th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(20) The counties of Monongalia and Preston shall constitute the 20th family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(21) The counties of Barbour and Taylor shall constitute the 21st family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(22) The counties of Tucker and Randolph shall constitute the 22nd family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(23) The counties of Mineral, Hampshire, and Morgan shall constitute the 23rd family court circuit and have two family court judges;
(24) The counties of Berkeley and Jefferson shall constitute the twenty-fourth family court circuit and have three family court judges: Provided, That effective January 1, 2025, the 24th family court circuit shall have four family court judges with the additional family court judge to be elected at the regularly scheduled election held in 2024 and every eighth year thereafter;
(25) The counties of Hardy, Pendleton and Grant shall constitute the 25th family court circuit and have one family court judge;
(26) The county of Putnam shall constitute the 26th family court circuit and have one family court judge; and
(27) The counties of Webster and Pocahontas shall constitute the 27th family court circuit and have one family court judge: Provided, That effective January 1, 2025, the counties of Braxton, Webster, and Pocahontas shall constitute the twenty-seventh family court circuit and have one family court judge.
(c) Family court judges taking office January 1, 2017, shall be elected at the regularly scheduled election(s) occurring in the year 2016 and shall serve for a term of eight years. Family court judges taking office January 1, 2025 shall be elected at the regularly scheduled election occurring in 2024 and shall serve for a term of eight years.
(d) The Legislature has the authority and may determine to realign the family court circuits and has the authority and may determine to increase or decrease the number of family court judges within a family court circuit, from time to time. Any person appointed or elected to the office of family court judge acknowledges the authority of the Legislature to realign family court circuits and the authority of the Legislature to increase or decrease the number of family court judges within a family court circuit.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the family court circuits and to allocate the number of family court judges in each family court circuit to be elected in the 2024 election.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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