A bill to modify the judicial districts of West Virginia, and for other purposes.
Public Law 97-471 · S. 3105 · 97th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Jan 14, 1983 · Law
Sponsor: Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Jennings Randolph
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Transfers Wood and Wirt Counties to the Southern Judicial District of West Virginia and Braxton, Pocahontas, and Webster Counties to the Northern Judicial District of West Virginia.
Provides that Parkersburg shall be a location for the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (currently, Parkersburg is a location for the District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia).
Committees
The record shows no committee referral for this bill.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 7 actions.
- Jan 14, 1983Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 97-471.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jan 3, 1983PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Dec 20, 1982FloorFloor · Passed House by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 16, 1982FloorFloor · Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.