Government of West Virginia

The capital and seat of government in West Virginia is the city of Charleston, located in the southwest area of the state.

The West Virginia Constitution imposes a limit of 60 calendar days the length of the regular session.

The session may be extended by concurrent resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of each house.

The final day of the regular session usually includes last-minute legislation in order to meet a constitutionally-imposed deadline of midnight.

This differs from neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, who have professional full-time legislatures.

[1] A term-limited governor may subsequently run for additional terms, but an interceding election must occur.

Small claims and misdemeanor case are heard by magistrates elected for four years, with between two and ten in each county, based on population.

Other officers are the County Clerk, whose primary duties are as recorder of deeds and voter's registrar; and a Circuit Clerk, who records acts of the Family and Circuit courts, both elected for six-year terms on a partisan basis; the sheriff, who has law enforcement and tax collection authority; the Prosecuting Attorney, who must be a lawyer and who not only handles criminal cases but also does the civil litigation for the county; an Assessor (the Constitution provides for a possibility of two, but no county has ever adopted that system), who determines the value of land for tax purposes, and a surveyor of lands, which has no official duties or salary except when the county commission contracts with the surveyor.