§23-5-8b. Transfer of jurisdiction to review objections to Workers’ Compensation Board of Review; termination of Office of Judges; appeals of board decisions to Intermediate Court of Appeals; effective July 1, 2022.

(a) The Office of Judges has no jurisdiction to review objections to a decision of the Insurance Commissioner, private carrier, or self-insured employer, whichever is applicable, made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and issued after June 30, 2022. The Workers’ Compensation Board of Review has exclusive jurisdiction to review objections to a decision of the Insurance Commissioner, private carrier, or self-insured employer, whichever is applicable, made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and issued after June 30, 2022.

(b) On or before September 30, 2022, the Office of Judges shall issue a final decision in, or otherwise dispose of, each and every objection or other matter pending before the Office of Judges. If the Office of Judges does not issue a final decision or otherwise dispose of any objection or other matter pending before the Office of Judges on or before September 30, 2022, the objection or other matter shall be transferred to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. For any objections transferred from the Office of Judges to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, the Board of Review shall adopt any existing records of proceedings in the Office of Judges, conduct further proceedings, and collect evidence as it determines to be necessary, and issue a final decision or otherwise dispose of the case according to the procedural rules promulgated pursuant to §23-5-11a(m) of this code.

(c) Upon the Office of Judges’ disposition of every matter pending before the office, or on October 1, 2022, whichever occurs earlier, the Office of Judges is terminated.

(d) The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, created in §51-11-1 et seq. of this code, has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over the following:

(1) Decisions or orders issued by the Office of Judges after June 30, 2022, and prior to its termination; and

(2) All final orders or decisions issued by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review after June 30, 2022.

(e) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review shall review and decide all remaining appeals filed with the Board of Review, of Office of Judges’ decisions issued prior to June 30, 2022, according to the procedure and requirements for such appeals heretofore provided in this article.

(f) This section becomes effective on July 1, 2022.