SB 719 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System

SB 719 clarifies how campus police officers employed by West Virginia state institutions (like universities) can use accrued vacation or sick days to earn retirement credit under the Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement System. It specifies that these officers may only count unused leave days earned *after* they began participating in the retirement plan, not days accrued before joining. The bill establishes a 1:1 conversion of unused leave days to retirement credit (with specific rules for partial months), while ensuring lump-sum payments for unused leave don't count toward final salary calculations. This directly affects campus police officers who are current members of the retirement system and impacts how their service time is calculated for benefits. The bill corrects prior ambiguities in the law regarding their eligibility for this credit.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Feb 3, 2026 Signed Jun 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version Enrolled Version · 4 edits · Mar 14, 2026
MODERATE
The bill was converted from an introduced draft to an enrolled final version, adding specific effective dates and mandatory participation rules for campus police officers. The most significant change is the creation of a new mandatory enrollment timeline: officers hired before January 1, 2026, must actively choose to join the retirement system by December 31, 2025, while all officers hired on or after that date are automatically required to participate. The bill also added a new provision allowing governing boards to apply for law enforcement grants.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from general retirement credit rules to include specific, time-bound enrollment mandates for campus police officers based on their hire date.
TIMELINE

Established a specific deadline of December 31, 2025, for pre-2026 hires to elect retirement participation.

ELIGIBILITY

Mandated that all campus police officers hired on or after January 1, 2026, must participate in the retirement system.

FISCAL

Added a provision allowing governing boards to apply for public or private law enforcement grants.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill status from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled' and updated the session year to 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 20, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 12, 2026

How they voted

310
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 33
Feb 20, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
29 Yea 2
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
38
Key actions
8
Committee
6
Mar 27, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 3/27/2026
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 3/27/2026 - Senate Journal
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 3/27/2026 - House Journal
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (Roll No. 439)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Do pass
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Committee
To House Finance
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Committee
To Finance
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 166)
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass, but first to Finance
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors