Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the West Virginia Legislature, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
Enrolled
Senate Bill 952
BY SENATOR OLIVERIO
[Passed March 14, 2026; in effect 90 days from
passage (June 12, 2026)]
Enr SB 952
1 AN ACT and to amend and reenact §51-3-14 and §51-3-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
2 as amended; and to repeal §51-3-17, relating to court security; transferring Court Security
3 Fund from Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety to Supreme Court of Appeals;
4 authorizing appropriation by Legislature to pay expenses of court in administering fund;
5 modifying membership of Court Security Board; and eliminating legislative rule-making
6 requirements for Court Security Board.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 3. COURTS IN GENERAL.
§51-3-14. Court Security Fund.
1 (a) The offices and the clerks of the magistrate courts and the circuit courts shall, on or
2 before the 10th day of each month, transmit all fees and costs received for the Court Security
3 Fund in accordance with the provisions of §50-3-1 and §50-3-2 of this code and §59-1-11 of this
4 code for deposit in the State Treasury to the credit of a special revenue fund to be known as the
5 Court Security Fund, which is hereby created under the Supreme Court of Appeals. The Court
6 Security Fund may receive any gifts, grants, contributions or other money from any source which
7 is specifically designated for deposit in the fund. All moneys collected and received and paid into
8 the State Treasury and credited to the Court Security Fund shall be expended by the board
9 exclusively to implement the improvement measures agreed upon in accordance with the security
10 plans submitted pursuant to §51-3-16 of this code and in accordance with an appropriation by the
11 Legislature and to pay expenses of the Supreme Court of Appeals in administering this fund,
12 which expenses may not in any fiscal year exceed the lesser of three percent of the funds
13 deposited into the Court Security Fund or $30,000. Amounts collected which are found from time
14 to time to exceed the funds needed for the purposes set forth in this article may be transferred to
15 other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes upon appropriation by the
16 Legislature.
17 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, after June 30, 2000, the
18 Court Security Board shall transfer such amounts from the Court Security Fund as may, from time
1
Enr SB 952
19 to time, be directed by the Legislature in an appropriation act to the Domestic Violence Legal
20 Services Fund created in §48-26-603 of this code. Any moneys transferred to the Domestic
21 Violence Legal Services Fund pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be expended for the
22 purposes specified in said section.
§51-3-15. Court security board, terms.
1 (a) There is hereby created a Court Security Board who shall make decisions on how the
2 money in the Court Security Fund is to be spent to enhance the security of courts. The board shall
3 consist of six members and the administrative director of the Supreme Court of Appeals who shall
4 serve ex officio and be the chair. The board shall be appointed as follows: One circuit court judge
5 appointed by the judicial association; one magistrate appointed by the magistrate's association;
6 one family law judge appointed by the family court judicial association; one member of the bar
7 appointed by the president of the West Virginia State Bar; one representative of counties
8 appointed by the West Virginia Association of Counties; and one representative of sheriffs
9 appointed by the West Virginia sheriffs association.
10 (b) Each appointment shall be for a four-year term commencing upon the expiration of his
11 or her previous term or of his or her predecessor's term. No member may be appointed for more
12 than three consecutive terms. Vacancies shall be appointed in a like manner for the balance of
13 an unexpired term.
14 (c) The board shall compile and keep a list of able and available law-enforcement officers
15 who have obtained certification in compliance with the provisions of §30-29-5 of this code and
16 who have maintained all necessary qualifications and firearms certifications to enable them to
17 serve as bailiffs in court facilities. The board shall make the list available to all county sheriffs for
18 their use in recruiting and hiring temporary, part-time, or occasional bailiffs to exercise all the
19 powers and duties of bailiffs in the court facilities in their counties.
§51-3-17. Promulgation of legislative rules.
1 [Repealed.]
2
Enr SB 952
The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby
certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
...............................................................
Clerk of the Senate
...............................................................
Clerk of the House of Delegates
Originated in the Senate.
In effect 90 days from passage.
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President of the Senate
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Speaker of the House of Delegates
__________
The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.
.............................................................
Governor
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