---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relating generally to magistrate courts"
description: "Relating generally to magistrate courts"
jurisdiction: "us/states/wv"
legislature: "West Virginia Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 2761"
citation: "West Virginia HB 2761 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Courts", "Magistrates"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Akers"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 40
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-02-21"
last_action: "2025-07-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/88b43c15-d05f-492f-89cf-c60c83a2406e"
source_url: "https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=2761&year=2025&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill"
source_hash: "465892b7b5594a02fbf8f76eb73e082e8b72268a787402fcf1d0dc2884249a69"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wv"]
---

# West Virginia HB 2761 (2025) — Relating generally to magistrate courts

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2761%20sub1.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2761)
2. **Engrossed Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2761%20sub1%20eng.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2761)
3. **Enrolled Committee Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2761%20sub1%20enr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2761)
4. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2761%20intr.htm&yr=2025&sesstype=RS&i=2761)
5. **hb2761 hfat akers 3-11 adopted.htm** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2025/RS/floor_amends/hb2761%20hfat%20akers%203-11%20adopted.htm)

## Votes

- Passage — **32–1** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **79–8** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Akers — primary (person)
- Barnhart — cosponsor (person)
- Cannon, D. — cosponsor (person)
- Criss — cosponsor (person)
- Funkhouser — cosponsor (person)
- Maynor — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-02-21** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-21** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-21** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2025-02-21** To House Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-03** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-04** To House Courts `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-05** Markup Discussion
- **2025-03-07** By substitute, do pass
- **2025-03-10** On 1st reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-10** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-03-11** On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-11** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-11** Amendment reported by the Clerk
- **2025-03-11** Amendment rejected (Voice vote) `amendment-failure`
- **2025-03-12** On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
- **2025-03-12** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-03-12** Passed House (Roll No. 69) `passage`
- **2025-03-12** Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
- **2025-03-12** Communicated to Senate
- **2025-03-13** Introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2025-03-13** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-13** To Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-04** Reported do pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-04-04** Immediate consideration
- **2025-04-04** Read 1st time `reading-1`
- **2025-04-07** On 2nd reading
- **2025-04-07** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-04-08** On 3rd reading
- **2025-04-08** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2025-04-08** Passed Senate (Roll No. 366) `passage`
- **2025-04-08** Communicated to House
- **2025-04-08** Completed legislative action
- **2025-04-09** House received Senate message
- **2025-04-14** To Governor 4/14/2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-14** To Governor 4/12/2025 - House Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-12** To Governor 4/14/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-25** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 - House Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-12** Approved by Governor 4/25/2025 - Senate Journal `executive-signature`
- **2025-07-22** Chapter 71, Acts, Regular Session, 2025 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/88b43c15-d05f-492f-89cf-c60c83a2406e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official West Virginia legislature records).