West Virginia approves judicial budget oversight amendment

On November 6, voters from West Virginia approved a judicial budget oversight amendment which allows the West Virginia legislature to have more oversight of the judicial branch’s budget, i.e., it would allow the Legislature to reduce the judicial budget by no more than 15%.

Moreover, the amendment includes procedures for the Legislature to inquire about the judicial budget. The amendment now requires the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals to appear in front of the Legislature and answer questions about the budget of the state judiciary if requested by either chamber of the Legislature. It would also explicitly allow the Chief Justice to appear at hearings voluntarily.

The measure passed by 276,062 votes with all precincts reporting, i.e., it received 72% of the popular vote.