W. Va. Code § 5A-8-17: Disposal of records.

(a) Except as provided in §57-1-7a of this code, no record shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by any agency of the state, unless it is determined by the administrator and the Director of Archives and History within the Department of Arts, Culture, and History that the record has no further administrative, legal, fiscal, research, or historical value. In the event the administrator is of the opinion that the record has no further administrative, legal, fiscal, research, or historical value, the administrator shall approve, if appropriate, a request for disposal of the records and notify both the Director of Archives and History and the agency that is the custodian of the records that they may be destroyed.

(b) The provisions of this section are not applicable to the judicial branch, the West Virginia House of Delegates, the West Virginia Senate, or the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.