SB 676 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Allowing certain Capitol Police officers to participate in WV State Police Retirement System

SB 676 would move employees in West Virginia's Division of Protective Services into the state police retirement system. This change directly affects staff currently covered under a different retirement plan, requiring them to participate in the West Virginia State Police Retirement Fund instead. The bill amends existing law to define these employees as "members" of the retirement system, aligning their contribution rates, benefit calculations, and eligibility rules with those of state police officers. This is a procedural policy change affecting retirement benefits for specific state workers.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 30, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Committee Substitute for the Committee Substitute · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision shifts the focus from enrolling Capitol Police into the State Police retirement system to managing the reemployment of retired officers. It adds new definitions and rules to ensure retired officers have a 'bona fide separation' before returning to work, while simultaneously extending the deadline for transferring assets from the Public Employees Retirement System and adjusting the start date for retirement benefits.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new provisions regarding the reemployment of retired officers and the reactivation of their service credits, in addition to the original focus on Capitol Police enrollment.

DEFINITION

Added a specific definition for 'Capitol police officer' to clarify eligibility requirements.

REQUIREMENT

Introduced new rules requiring a 'bona fide separation from service' (at least 60 consecutive days) for retired officers before they can return to work without voiding their retirement benefits.

TIMELINE

Extended the deadline for transferring assets from the Public Employees Retirement System from March 31, 2027, to April 30, 2027.

Delayed the earliest date Capitol Police officers can commence retirement after transferring assets from April 1, 2027, to May 1, 2027.

Extended the repayment deadline for reinstated service contributions from December 31, 2030, to December 31, 2031.

FISCAL

Added a requirement that Capitol Police officers must agree to pay the difference in contribution rates between the two retirement systems to transfer assets.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated the 'Employee' definition to explicitly require full-time employment for both law enforcement and Capitol Police positions.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026

How they voted

33–0

Passed

Total votes 33

Feb 26, 2026

D Democratic2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican31

31 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

To Finance

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

To House Finance

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 237)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors