Democrat-backed bill would give Legislature more control of emergency powers

For virtually the entirety of the pandemic, there has been some level of criticism of emergency powers and how Governor Jay Inslee has wielded them to address the COVID-19 crisis. The longer the pandemic has lingered on, the louder and more robust those criticisms have become over what some see as Inslee’s unilateral decision making during the past two years.

Inslee has faced multiple legal challenges over his use of emergency powers, and prevailed in all so far.

Still, the appetite for stronger checks and balances and more of a voice for lawmakers in times of emergency has continued to grow, including among some Democrats.

Republicans have introduced several bills aimed at curbing emergency powers the past two sessions, but introduction was the end of their path.

At the start of the 2022 session, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins indicated growing support for balance, and said it was likely there would be hearings on something related to emergency powers.

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It appears the most likely candidate will be Senator Emily Randall’s just introduced bill – the first Democrat-sponsored legislation to be introduced on the issue.

“I’m introducing this bill, because whether or not I agree with all of the decisions that Governor Inslee made over the course of the pandemic, we have heard loud and clear from neighbors that they want their elected legislators to have a voice in the process to make sure that our community members’ voices are part of the process,” Randall said.

Randall’s bill, SB 5909, does two main things.

“This puts into law one piece that we put into the budget last session, which says that when we get significant federal funds, instead of only the governor having a say, we ensure that the Legislature has a say in the process of spending those unanticipated receipts. The other thing it does is allow for a Four Corners decision of the Legislature — the leadership of the House and the leadership of the Senate of both parties — to unanimously act after 90 days on emergency orders,” she said.

Specifically, Randall explained, “what this does is say that if an emergency has been going on for 90 days, then there is a mechanism that the Four Corners of the Legislature can end that.”

Randall says the bill is about ensuring that there is a check on an emergency that some may feel has gone on too long.

“My co-sponsor, Senator Van De Wege, [who] represents the 24th on the Olympic Peninsula — where for a time, they had little to no COVID infection — [was] still under the same emergency orders as the rest of the state. So this ensures that there is a place for the legislators to have a stronger voice,” Randall said.

One big complaint from Republicans has been that they receive a flood of concerns from their constituents, but have had no opportunity to represent them on those issues.

Randall understands that’s the situation on all sides.

“I hear that from my constituents who identify as Republican, Democrat, and independent, that it felt like our governor had a lot more power than they thought the governor should have,” she recalled.

Randall expects the bill to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate’s State Government Committee soon.

Some Republican lawmakers say they do not think this bill goes quite far enough, but stress they’re glad to at least see the conversation finally happen.

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