Charleston Gazette-Mail – The West Virginia Senate approved a bill in a 23-9 vote Friday that would bar magistrates from releasing defendants charged with a felony on a personal recognizance bond, which allows a defendant to be released from jail without posting bail.
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The ban, which is poised to create more potential customers for the bail bond industry, was added to the bill by a senator whose wife is a registered lobbyist for the industry.
House Bill 5257 also allows the West Virginia Supreme Court to create pay scales for judicial support staff, a move aimed at aiding employee recruitment and retention efforts that was the original basis for the bill.
