House 5656

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5656

By Delegate Kyle

[Introduced February 17, 2026; referred to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §7-7-4b, relating to additional compensation of clerk of the county commission for additional duties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

article 7. compensation of elected county officials.

§7-7-4b. Additional compensation of clerk of the county commission.

(a) In addition to the salary or compensation provided in §7-7-4 of this code, the county commission of each county shall pay to the county clerk an annual additional compensation for expanded responsibilities in election administration.

(b) To qualify for this additional compensation, each county clerk shall perform the following duties which reflect significant expansions in statutory and operational responsibilities since the year 2002:

(1) Administration and oversight of municipal elections transferred to county jurisdictions beginning in 2024, including ballot preparation, scheduling, poll worker coordination and training and reporting requirements, as required by §3-1-31 and §8-5-5.

(2) Compliance with state and federal requirements including but not limited to §3-2-25,

§3-2-26, and §3-2-27, by conducting and completing voter registration roll list maintenance on a regular and timely basis, including the mailing of address confirmation notices, certification of completion of the nondiscriminatory program for conducting voter registration roll list maintenance, and cancellation of outdated or unauthorized voter registration records.

(3) Adherence to state and federal cybersecurity requirements for critical election infrastructure, including completion of annual cybersecurity training, reasonable implementation of Secretary of State security directives, and maintenance of secure voting system operations as required by §11-22-2(c)(4) and 153 CSR 55.

(4) Fulfillment of federal and state election grant reporting obligations under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), as required by 52 U.S.C. §20901 et seq., §3-1-48, and 153 CSR 10.

(5) Continued performance of election administration duties transferred from circuit clerks in 2002, including absentee ballot administration, ballot preparation, and candidate filing management.

(c) The annual additional compensation shall be $15,000 and shall be paid in equal installments on the same schedule as regular compensation.

(d) Prior to remittance of the additional compensation provided for in this section, the

Secretary of State shall confirm upon request by a county clerk, on an annual basis, whether the county clerk has met the performance benchmarks provided in subsection (b). Clerks determined to be in full compliance shall receive the additional compensation for that calendar year.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the county commission

to provide further additional compensation pursuant to other provisions of this code.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide supplemental compensation to county clerks for expanded election duties, including municipal election oversight, cybersecurity compliance, federal reporting, and election administration responsibilities transferred from circuit clerks.

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