SB 793 revises West Virginia law governing legal holidays, court timing rules, and when county courthouses may be closed. The bill adds and clarifies definitions and procedures for a “day of local significance,” meaning a locally observed event such as a fair, festival, parade, or celebration that makes normal court business impractical. To use that designation, a county commission must issue a proclamation and the chief judge of the circuit court must enter a corresponding order more than 90 days before the date, with notice sent to the Supreme Court of Appeals for publication.
The bill also updates the statutes that control how deadlines are computed when a required act or court proceeding falls on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, weather or emergency day, or day of local significance. It clarifies that, for state courts, the Supreme Court of Appeals’ rules govern timing issues involving these dates. In addition, it amends the county courthouse statute to specify that courthouses may be closed on weekdays only for legal holidays, weather or emergency days, or days of local significance, while preserving county discretion to open on Saturdays.
Impact
SB 793 amends §§2-2-1, 2-2-2, and 7-3-2 of the West Virginia Code. Its practical effect is to expand and formalize the list of days that can alter court deadlines or justify courthouse closure, while creating a new statutory mechanism for counties to recognize local events that disrupt court operations. County commissions and circuit judges will have a clearer process for designating those days, and courts will have explicit direction on how to treat them when calculating filing deadlines, court terms, and other procedural time periods.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial. It passed the Senate unanimously 31-0 and the House unanimously 89-0, and there were no committee transcript snippets indicating opposition or debate. The voting record suggests general agreement that the measure was a practical administrative update for courts and county governments rather than a policy dispute.
Contention
No major points of contention are evident in the available record. The main policy choices embedded in the bill are procedural: how far in advance a day of local significance must be designated, which local officials must approve it, and how courthouse closures interact with court deadlines. Any potential concern would likely center on preserving court access and avoiding ad hoc closures, but the bill’s advance-notice and publication requirements appear designed to address that issue. The unanimous votes indicate those issues did not generate visible disagreement in the Legislature.
Relating to creating a moratorium on school closures and consolidations pending a West Virginia Department of Education (“WVDE”) school aid formula proposal.