West Virginia Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in West Virginia, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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In a West Virginia county that imposes an ambulance fee, does the sheriff have to be the one who bills and collects it, or can the county commission give the job to someone else?
The AG concluded that the sheriff is the default bill collector under W. Va. Code § 7-5-1 and cannot refuse the role, but the county commission can affirmatively designate a different employee, the am…
If a West Virginia county wants to contract directly with local EMS squads for ambulance service, does it have to put the contracts out to competitive bid first?
No. The competitive-bidding requirement in W. Va. Code § 7-15-16 applies only when an 'emergency ambulance service authority' is procuring supplies, equipment, materials, or facilities, not when a cou…
Can a West Virginia county ambulance authority delegate ambulance-allocation decisions to a subcommittee of its board, and can the squads use private companies to bill patients?
The AG concluded the answer was no on the subcommittee question and yes on the billing question. The Emergency Ambulance Service Act lodges management of an authority in the full board (each member ha…
How does West Virginia's Emergency Ambulance Service Act of 1975 actually constrain how a county ambulance authority's board operates: appointments, terms, proxies, officers, billing, and ambulance management?
The AG worked through six questions for Mineral County. Only the county commission can appoint board members (the Act gives no role to squads or hospitals beyond recommending candidates). Members must…
Can a West Virginia county ambulance authority sue in magistrate court to collect unpaid emergency ambulance fees?
No, not for the special county-wide fees imposed under W. Va. Code § 7-15-17. The AG concluded that those fees are levied and collected by the county commission, not the ambulance authority. The autho…
Does a West Virginia county commission have to provide ambulance service, and how can it pay for it?
Yes, but with a money-availability caveat. The AG concluded that W. Va. Code § 7-15-4 requires county commissions to make emergency ambulance service available where it is not otherwise available, but…
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Attorney general opinions in West Virginia are written by the West Virginia Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.