Updating retirement eligibility for certain sheriffs
SB 206 would allow sheriffs who are members of West Virginia's public retirement system to retire at age 62 with eight or more years of service as an elected sheriff. Currently, new members (joining after July 1, 2015) require 10 years of service for retirement at 62, but this bill creates a specific exception for sheriffs. The change applies only to sheriffs not participating in another retirement system and directly affects elected sheriffs seeking retirement under the state's public retirement program. This policy adjustment lowers the required service years for sheriffs from 10 to 8, making retirement eligibility more accessible for this group.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Last action Feb 20, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
Committee Substitute
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was converted from an introduced draft to a committee substitute version, which includes the addition of a formal purpose statement and a note explaining the formatting conventions used in the text. The core legislative text regarding retirement eligibility for sheriffs remains unchanged in substance.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on amending the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement Act to allow sheriffs to retire at age 62 with eight years of service.
TECHNICAL
Added a formal purpose statement and a note explaining that strike-throughs indicate deleted text and underscoring indicates new text.
Added a note clarifying that the bill authorizes sheriffs to retire at age 62 with eight or more years of service.
Removed the introductory header text and metadata associated with the 'Introduced Version' draft.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2026
How they voted
32–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 33
Feb 19, 2026
D
Democratic2
100% Yea
R
Republican31
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
19
Key actions
2
Committee
5
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
To House Finance
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
To Finance
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 144)
upper
Feb 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 4 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Ryan Weld
RRepublican
Co
Ben Queen
RRepublican
Co
Bill Hamilton
RRepublican
Co
Eric Tarr
RRepublican
Co
Vince Deeds
RRepublican
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