(The Center Square) – Legislation to rein in the governor’s emergency powers passed out of a Washington State Senate committee Friday, but not before majority party Democrats adopted a striking amendment that some Republicans suggested weakens current law.
Senate Bill 5434, sponsored by Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Woolley, would establish balanced legislative oversight of gubernatorial powers during a declared emergency.
Emergency powers reform has been an issue since Feb. 29, 2020, when then-Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency in response to the novel coronavirus spreading worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the state of emergency, Inslee issued scores of additional proclamations, ranging from shelter-in-place orders to school closures, a moratorium on evictions, and vaccine and mask mandates.
“There is only one person in the state of Washington who has the capability to save those lives right now, and it happens to be the governor of the state of Washington,” Inslee told TVW during an interview in September 2021.
Inslee ended the state of emergency on Oct. 31, 2022, after 975 days in effect.
The Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Election Committee debated amendments to SB 5434 ahead of final passage, rejecting a Republican-backed amendment but adopting a Democrat-backed amendment that committee member Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, told The Center Square resulted in a “diluted version of the bill.”
Wilson’s unsuccessful amendment would have removed the limitation of executive orders that prohibit activities during a state of emergency to 30 days unless extended by the Legislature. The amendment would also require legislative consultation with the emergency management division of the Washington military department prior to the termination of a state of emergency.
A striking amendment offered by committee Chair Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, was adopted with no Republican support.
A striking amendment removes everything after the title of a bill and replaces it with a new bill. It’s similar to a substitute amendment, but substitutes aren’t allowed on the chamber floor.
Valdez’s amendment would remove procedures for legislative extension of executive orders and add procedures for legislative termination of executive orders.
According to the amendment, “If the legislature is not in session [at the time of an emergency declaration] and it has been more than 90 days since the governor declared a state of emergency, termination of the state of emergency [could be made] in writing by all four members of the leadership of the senate and house of representatives.”
Republicans voiced frustration.
“It actually weakens what is already in place,” Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, said. “This proposed sub takes us in the opposite direction which is frustrating to me.”
Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Federal Way, echoed that sentiment.
“The thing that concerns me about this is it removes the 30-day determination,” he said. “This would mean that an emergency could go on forever until the governor decided that it was over. As opposed to having us be able to represent the people in our district.”
It’s a minor miracle that SB 5434 got a hearing on Friday, the final cutoff day for bills to pass through a policy committee in their house of origin.
SB 5434, which has bipartisan support, was pretty much dead until Wagoner reached out to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s team based on what Ferguson said during his inaugural address last month about supporting some changes to emergency powers.
Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, said he hoped Democrats would work with Republicans on the final version of the bill.
“It was sad that Wagoner and Sen. Jeff Wilson worked with the governor and came up with a good bipartisan bill, and now we’re going to change it outside of that scope,” he lamented. “That is really disappointing to me.”
Wilson spoke with The Center Square after the hearing.
“I don’t believe we moved a product forward this is bipartisan,” he said. “There is still hope and opportunity. However, that chance is yet to be revealed. Going forward, my fingers are crossed, and all hands on deck that we have another chance to make this a reasonable reform that most everybody in Washington state would agree upon. And I think they are expecting from us.”