# West Virginia HB 5622: Amendments to city charters.

West Virginia HB 5622, Amendments to city charters., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Geno Chiarelli (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-06-29 (Chapter 244, Acts, Regular Session, 2026) (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5622-2026rs
- As of: 2026-11-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: West Virginia HB 5622
- State: West Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Amendments to city charters.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-16
- Last action: 2026-06-29, Chapter 244, Acts, Regular Session, 2026
- Sponsor: Geno Chiarelli (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: §8-4-8, §8-5-5
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (125 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Cities share election costs with cap: mixed, low. Municipalities must pay part of the county’s election administrative costs. A city’s share cannot be more than its share of registered voters in the county. To find the cap, multiply total county election costs by (city registered voters ÷ total county registered voters).
- City elections move to state dates: mixed, low. Cities, towns, and villages must line up their election day and rules with state election dates by July 1, 2032. A city can pass a special conformity ordinance to change its election day and set transitional term lengths without a voter referendum, petition, or charter‑election. The ordinance must…
- Simpler city charter changes by ordinance: mixed, low. The law lets a city council change its charter by ordinance. The full text must run as a Class II-0 legal ad, and a hearing must be at least 30 days after the first ad. If no one files objections, or they are withdrawn within 10 days after the hearing, the council may adopt the change with an effec…
- Voters can set four-year local terms: mixed, low. The law lets cities elect officers to four‑year terms at the same election that approves a charter change creating four‑year terms. Ballots must say officers will serve four years if the change passes. Towns and villages can adopt four‑year terms by a majority vote on a ballot question at a regular…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Geno Chiarelli (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-12 | Senate | Passed Senate (Roll No. 513) | pass | 34 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House (Roll No. 334) | pass | 91 | 0 |   |

## Actions (35)

- 2026-06-29: Chapter 244, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-30: Approved by Governor 3/27/2026 (House)
- 2026-03-25: To Governor 3/25/26 (House)
- 2026-03-14: To Governor 3/25/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 3/27/2026 - House Journal (House)
- 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 3/27/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: House received Senate message (House)
- 2026-03-12: On 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Read 3rd time (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Passed Senate (Roll No. 513) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Communicated to House (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Completed legislative action (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: On 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Read 2nd time (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Reported do pass (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Immediate consideration (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read 1st time (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Introduced in Senate (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: To Government Organization (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: To Government Organization (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: On 3rd reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-04: Read 3rd time (House)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House (Roll No. 334) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Communicated to Senate (House)
- 2026-03-03: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-03: Read 2nd time (House)
- 2026-03-02: On 1st reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-02: On 1st reading, Special Calendar (House)
- 2026-03-02: Read 1st time (House)
- 2026-02-27: By substitute, do pass (House)
- 2026-02-27: Do pass (House)
- 2026-02-16: Filed for introduction (House)
- 2026-02-16: To Government Organization (House)
- 2026-02-16: Introduced in House (House)
- 2026-02-16: To House Government Organization (House)

## Bill text

- Committee Substitute: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1.pdf)
- Engrossed: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 eng.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 eng.pdf)
- Enrolled: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 enr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 enr.pdf)
- Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 intr.pdf)

## Related bills

- HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licensure and create disclosure requirements and daily transaction limitations for ne… (signed)
- HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations (signed)
- HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance (signed)
- HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to that of a foster parent (signed)
- HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally (became law)
- HB 4138: Relating to persons convicted of a crime (signed)

## Sources
- [Committee Substitute (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1.htm)
- [Committee Substitute (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1.pdf)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 eng.htm)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 eng.pdf)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 enr.htm)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 sub1 enr.pdf)
- [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 intr.htm)
- [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/hb5622 intr.pdf)

## Related
- [HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5353-2026rs)
- [HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4452-2026rs)
- [HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4354-2026rs)
- [HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to tha…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4390-2026rs)
- [HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4191-2026rs)
- [HB 4138: Relating to persons convicted of a crime](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4138-2026rs)
- [West Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia/bills)
- [West Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5622-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).