SB 206 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Updating retirement eligibility for certain sheriffs

SB 206 would allow sheriffs who are members of West Virginia's public retirement system to retire at age 62 with eight or more years of service as an elected sheriff. Currently, new members (joining after July 1, 2015) require 10 years of service for retirement at 62, but this bill creates a specific exception for sheriffs. The change applies only to sheriffs not participating in another retirement system and directly affects elected sheriffs seeking retirement under the state's public retirement program. This policy adjustment lowers the required service years for sheriffs from 10 to 8, making retirement eligibility more accessible for this group.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version Committee Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was converted from an introduced draft to a committee substitute version, which includes the addition of a formal purpose statement and a note explaining the formatting conventions used in the text. The core legislative text regarding retirement eligibility for sheriffs remains unchanged in substance.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on amending the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement Act to allow sheriffs to retire at age 62 with eight years of service.
TECHNICAL

Added a formal purpose statement and a note explaining that strike-throughs indicate deleted text and underscoring indicates new text.

Added a note clarifying that the bill authorizes sheriffs to retire at age 62 with eight or more years of service.

Removed the introductory header text and metadata associated with the 'Introduced Version' draft.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2026

How they voted

320
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 33
Feb 19, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
30 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
2
Committee
5
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
To House Finance
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
To Finance
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 144)
upper
Feb 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 4 co-sponsors

Sponsors