Below are rules issued by the West Virginia legislature authorizing oversight by its committees. This information does not include oversight authority that may be granted to the legislature by state laws.
House Rules #
“Every committee of the House shall administer oaths to any person, except current members or employees of the West Virginia Legislature, appearing before the committee at any meeting, with the exception of a public hearing or during the deliberations of any committee. If any witness to whom an oath has been administered shall refuse to answer a question put to such witness by any member of the committee, the committee may report such refusal to the House and upon motion duly made by any member of the House, the House may cause to be issued a subpoena to compel such witness to appear before the committee to give testimony. Upon appearance pursuant to subpoena the witness may be questioned by the Chair and any member of the committee. The Clerk of the House, the Chair of the committee and, in the absence of the Chair, any member of the committee may administer the oath to the witness and may require that such oath be subscribed to by the witness” (House Rule 84a).
Senate Rules #
“Every committee shall have authority, upon its own motion adopted by a majority of the members present and voting, to administer oaths to any witness appearing before the committee. If any witness to whom an oath has been administered shall refuse to answer a question put to such witness by any member of the committee, the committee may report such refusal to the Senate, and the Senate may cause to be issued a subpoena to compel such witness to appear before the committee to give testimony. Upon appearance pursuant to subpoena, the witness may be questioned by the chairman and members of the committee. The Clerk of the Senate, the chairman of the committee and, in the absence of the chairman, any member of the committee may administer the oath to the witness and may require that such oath be subscribed to by the witness” (Senate Rule 28a).
