House 4799

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4799

By Delegates Pinson and Brooks

[Introduced January 23, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §15-10-8, relating to the establishment of the cold case task force within the West Virginia State Police; establishing the executive board; establishing certain duties for the executive board; establishing certain procedures for the cold case task force; authorizing interagency cooperation; establishing the cold case task force fund; and requiring certain data sharing.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 10. COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

§15-10-8. Statewide cold case task force.

(a) There is hereby established a statewide multi-jurisdictional cold case task force within the West Virginia State Police. The executive board of the cold case task force shall consist of the Superintendent of the State Police, the President of the West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association, and the President of the West Virginia Sheriffs' Association.

(b) The purpose of the cold case task force is the investigation and prosecution of offenders in cold cases, as that term is defined in §15A-12-9 of this code. The cold case task force is authorized to cooperate with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies to effectuate the purposes of this section: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the cold case task force to supersede the ongoing investigations of any other law-enforcement agency.

(c) The executive board shall establish policies and procedures to effectuate the purposes of this section, including, but not limited to, the number of law-enforcement officers assigned to the cold case task force. Subject to available funds, the cold case task force shall be staffed by a task force director and other members of the West Virginia State Police as designated by the executive board.

(d) The cold case task force director shall perform the following powers and duties:

(1) To supervise the members of the West Virginia State Police assigned to the cold case task force;

(2) To request assistance and cooperation of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency pursuant to the provisions of §15-10-4 of this code to augment the establishment of the cold case task force: Provided, That the director may provide the opportunity to participate in the cold case task force to any law-enforcement officer from the agency originally investigating the cold case, as directed by the administrator from the agency originally investigating the cold case;

(3) To coordinate and cooperate with any other federal or state law-enforcement agencies; and

(4) To assure compliance with any policies or procedures established by the executive board for the operation of the cold case task force.

(e) The executive board may request assistance and cooperation of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency pursuant to the provisions of §15-10-4 of this code to augment the establishment of the cold case task force.

(f) The cold case task force fund is hereby created within the Treasury of the state. The fund shall be administered by the Superintendent of the State Police and shall consist of all moneys made available for the operations of the cold case task force from any source, including, but not limited to, all fees, all gifts, grants, bequests or transfers from any source, any moneys that may be appropriated and designated for the cold case task force by the Legislature and all interest or other return earned from investment of the fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be for the operations of the cold case task force and are not authorized from collections but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of §12-3-1 et seq. of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in §11B-2-1 et seq. of this code.

(g) The Director of the West Virginia Fusion Center shall cooperate with the executive board to the fullest extent practicable to provide information necessary to accomplish the mission of the cold case task force and shall make available any information contained in the cold case database established in §15A-12-9 of this code.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.