WA Republicans hope fifth time’s the charm for emergency powers reform bill

Washington Republicans push for emergency powers reform with House Bill 1221, seeking legislative oversight of state emergencies. — Gov Jay Inslee gives COVID update on Nov. 11, 2021. Screenshot courtesy TVW

Republicans have tried to reform emergency powers every year since the COVID-19 pandemic

Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington

Republican lawmakers in Washington state are taking another stab at emergency powers reform in the hope that a new governor means legislation to that effect will at least get a hearing.

Bob Ferguson, former state attorney general, was sworn in as governor of Washington on Wednesday afternoon.

Republicans have tried to reform emergency powers every year since the COVID-19 pandemic, but even with support from some Democrats, those measures have gone nowhere.

Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, has introduced House Bill 1221 this session to address the issue.

“I’m hoping maybe the new governor would be a little more open to it,” he told The Center Square.

Volz’s bill gives the legislative branch more input and influence during official state emergencies. If passed, a state of emergency could end if the Legislature passes a concurrent resolution or if the leaders of all four caucuses agree in writing that the emergency is over.

In addition, a state of emergency would automatically end after 60 days unless specifically extended by the Legislature.

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 that was spreading across the globe during the pandemic. Under the state of emergency, Inslee issued scores of additional proclamations ranging from shelter-in-place orders to school closures to a moratorium on evictions to vaccine and mask mandates.

Inslee ended the state of emergency on Oct. 31, 2022, after 975 days in effect.

The former governor has repeatedly defended his actions, saying he used his authority to save lives during the pandemic and noting that his authority has been upheld every time it was challenged in court.

“Washington is one of only four states that hands over unilateral authority to the governor to declare and maintain a state of emergency,” Volz emailed The Center Square.

During the pandemic, most other states called lawmakers into special session to vote on executive orders, but despite Republicans’ pleas to have a voice in those decisions, Inslee refused to consult legislators.

At the time, Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said in a statement that Inslee’s orders were justified early in the pandemic. His view changed as the pandemic went on.

“It doesn’t matter what party the governor belongs to – shutting the people out of the decision-making process is wrong,” Braun said.

Volz has co-sponsored similar legislation in past sessions.

“However, the [former] governor was not interested in relinquishing any power and subsequently helped to squash our efforts,” he said in a news release. “He chose to keep us under lockdown and abused his authority during COVID.”

Volz said he’s hopeful Ferguson will encourage majority Democrats to at least give his bill a hearing.

“I thought what the heck,” Volz noted. “He’s saying certain things like he wants to work together, so we’ll see if he really wants to.”

During his address to a joint session of the Legislature after being sworn in as governor, Ferguson indicated he hoped to work with Braun to adopt reasonable limits to the governor’s emergency powers.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.

Republicans have tried to reform emergency powers every year since the COVID-19 pandemic

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