To establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia
HB4799 creates a statewide cold case task force within the West Virginia State Police to investigate and help prosecute unresolved criminal cases. The task force is organized around an executive board made up of the State Police Superintendent, the president of the West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association, and the president of the West Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. The bill also names the measure the Leah Hickman Memorial Act.
The task force is intended to coordinate multi-jurisdictional work on cold cases without displacing ongoing investigations by other law-enforcement agencies. It authorizes the Task Force Director, selected by the Superintendent from within the State Police, to supervise assigned personnel, request assistance from local agencies, coordinate with state and federal partners, and establish operating policies and procedures. The bill also allows the use of retired state police as volunteers or part-time employees, subject to available funds.
HB4799 creates a Cold Case Task Force Fund in the State Treasury to support operations through appropriations and other sources such as gifts, grants, bequests, transfers, and investment earnings. For fiscal year 2027, the bill allows expenditures from collections rather than requiring an explicit appropriation. It also directs the West Virginia Fusion Center to share information, including data from the cold case database, to support the task force’s mission.
The bill’s impact on state law is to add a new section to the law governing cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and to formalize a permanent statewide cold case investigative structure within the State Police. It also creates a dedicated funding mechanism and exempts executive board meetings from the state open meetings law. The measure affects the State Police, local police and sheriffs’ agencies, the Fusion Center, and the handling of cold case information and resources.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial. It passed the House 93-0, the Senate 32-0, and the House again 94-0 after the Senate amendment, indicating broad bipartisan agreement. The memorial naming and the focus on unsolved cases likely contributed to the positive reception.
The main points of contention are limited in the text and voting record, but the bill does include a few notable policy choices: it exempts executive board meetings from open meetings requirements, allows the task force to operate with retired officers and volunteers, and gives the Superintendent broad discretion over staffing and operations subject to available funds. The bill also preserves the authority of existing agencies by stating that the task force may not supersede ongoing investigations.
HB4799 adds §15-10-8 to the West Virginia Code, creating a statewide cold case task force within the State Police, establishing its governance structure, authorizing interagency cooperation, creating a special fund, and requiring information sharing from the West Virginia Fusion Center. It affects law-enforcement administration, public records/open meetings rules for the executive board, and state budgeting by providing a dedicated funding source and a one-year expenditure authorization from collections.
The bill appears to have enjoyed unanimous or near-unanimous support throughout the legislative process. It passed both chambers without any recorded dissenting votes, suggesting broad agreement on the need to strengthen cold case investigations and support law-enforcement coordination. There is no committee transcript available indicating opposition or significant debate.
There is little visible contention in the available record, but the bill raises a few structural issues that could matter in implementation. The executive board’s meetings are exempt from open meetings laws, which may concern transparency advocates. The Superintendent is given significant discretion over staffing, including the use of retired officers, and the task force’s operations depend on available funds. The bill also carefully limits the task force so it does not override existing investigations, which reflects sensitivity to agency autonomy and jurisdictional boundaries.