WV HB5656

County clerks would receive an additional $15,000 annual compensation for expanded election administration responsibilities beyond their base salary under §7-7-4

Qualifying duties include administration of municipal elections transferred to counties in 2024, voter registration roll maintenance, cybersecurity compliance for election infrastructure, and federal HAVA grant reporting

The Secretary of State must annually verify that county clerks have met the performance benchmarks before the additional compensation is paid

County commissions retain authority to provide further additional compensation beyond this amount under other provisions of law

The bill adds new section §7-7-4b to the West Virginia Code, introduced February 17, 2026, and referred to the House Finance Committee