SB 37 West Virginia Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Allowing certain Teachers Retirement System members to exchange unused leave for monetary compensation

This bill allows classroom teachers who joined West Virginia's Teachers Retirement System on or after July 1, 2015, to sell up to 10 unused personal leave days to their county school board for cash. Teachers receive 80% of the county's rate for a substitute teacher with a bachelor's degree and 10 years' experience per day, paid by June 30. Once sold, those leave days are permanently forfeited and cannot be used for any future purpose. The policy directly affects eligible teachers by providing a one-time cash option for unused leave instead of carrying it forward.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2025 Last action Mar 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Committee Substitute for the Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill revision clarifies that teachers who sell unused personal leave days permanently forfeit those days and they cannot be used again. It also updates terminology from 'cash bonus' to 'cash on-time salary enhancement' and adjusts the reporting committee from Education to Finance.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on classroom teachers in the Teachers Retirement System, but the policy impact is strengthened by making the forfeiture of sold leave days explicit and permanent.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit language stating that sold personal leave days are forfeited and no longer available to the teacher for any purpose.

DEFINITION

Changed 'cash bonus' to 'cash on-time salary enhancement' and updated '80%' to '80 percent' for consistency.

TECHNICAL

Updated committee reporting date from February 20, 2025 to March 14, 2025 and changed committee from Education to Finance.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 19, 2025

How they voted

32–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 33

Mar 19, 2025

D Democratic2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 20, 2025

Committee

To House Finance

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Committee

To Finance

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 131)

upper

Mar 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee substitute for committee substitute reported

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Committee

To Finance

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

To Education

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

To Education then Finance

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors