A first grade student at the Green Mountain School waits to leave class at the end of the day on February 18, 2021 in Woodland, Washington amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ordering schools closed was among the actions that Gov. Jay Inslee took in response to the virus at a time when vaccines were not available. Washington loosened guidelines to allow for a return to some in-person learning in December 2020. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Bob Ferguson had only been Washington’s governor a few minutes when he said he could accept “reasonable limits” on the powers he could exercise in statewide emergencies.
A few weeks later, when a Republican state senator’s bill to add new guardrails stalled, he made a phone call to a key Democratic senator to get it moving.
Now, the legislation is poised to lapse. That Democratic senator said if Ferguson had discussed desired wording changes with Senate Democrats, the bill might be on a different trajectory.
“He didn’t work with us on any changes,” said Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, chair of the State Government, Tribal Affairs & Election Committee. “If this was going to be a truly bipartisan bill, the governor’s office needed to be talking to not only one side but needed to be talking to both sides.”
Senate Bill 5434 isn’t dead, yet. It passed out of the Valdez-led committee on a party-line vote last month and was sent to the Rules Committee. It faces a deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday to be brought out and voted on by the full Senate.
Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, the bill’s sponsor, said it is unlikely to advance because revisions made by Democrats on the state government committee would leave lawmakers with less influence than they have now and could allow some directives to stay in force longer than permitted under existing law.
Wagoner, who serves on the Rules Committee, said, “I’m not going to pull an ineffective bill to the floor so we can say we did something.”
Ferguson and his staff did not respond to a request for comment.
Under Washington law, when a governor declares a state of emergency, they can prohibit a wide range of activities to preserve and maintain life, health, property and public safety. They also can waive enforcement of rules and legal obligations affecting all walks, public and private. An emergency declaration remains in effect until the governor cancels it.
Waivers or suspensions of limits or obligations in state law are restricted to 30 days unless extended by resolution by the Legislature, if it is in session, or in writing by leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives, if it is out of session.
State lawmakers last updated provisions in the emergency powers law in 2019. The issue incited much debate throughout the pandemic as the emergency declaration issued by former Gov. Jay Inslee lasted nearly two-and-a-half years.
Wagoner’s original bill authorized the Legislature, if it is in session, to end a state of emergency by passage of a resolution in each chamber on a simple majority vote.
If the Legislature is not in session, and if more than 90 days have passed since a governor declared a state of emergency, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives can end it with a written agreement.
And the legislation also sets a 30-day limit on prohibited activities during a declared emergency, unless the Legislature agrees to extend the ban.
Last month, the committee approved an amendment from Valdez to allow orders banning activities to stay in effect longer unless ended by the Legislature.
Before passing the Valdez amendment, the Democrat-led panel rejected changes proposed by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview.
One provision sought to make it easier for lawmakers to be brought back into special session to consider ending orders that prohibit certain activities or ones that waive or suspend rules.
It said if the Legislature is not in session, two of the four members of House and Senate leadership could ask the governor in writing to convene a special session. In other words, the minority party could reach out, even if the majority party opposed.
The governor would have 15 days to consider the request and call a special session. If one is not called, orders would automatically end.
Wagner said he worked on the language in Wilson’s amendment with advisors for Ferguson, whose well-timed phone call earned the bill a hearing and a vote in committee.
“I reached out to the governor’s team to see if they can help educate [Democrats] or influence them,” Wagoner said following the committee vote. “Otherwise we can’t support the bill.”