Reformation of Gov. Inslee’s emergency powers inches toward Senate vote

Ahead of a Thursday cutoff, a bill that adds to the Legislature’s ability to curtail Gov. Inslee’s executive powers through a State of Emergency proclamation has passed out of committee hearing and heads to a few final hurdles before reaching a vote on the Senate floor.

Gov. Inslee ‘not excited’ about emergency powers reform, thousands voice support

Senate Bill 5909 has drawn a significant amount of attention in recent days, with roughly 5,000 people signing up for public comment when it was considered at the committee level late last week.

The bill effectively checks a State of Emergency after 90 days, where it it reconsidered by House and Senate leadership. It also allows the state Legislature more flexibility in allocating federal funds.

With the committee vote Wednesday, Feb. 2, Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) addressed the bill within the context of COVID, calling the pandemic unprecedented, which required the governor to reciprocate with a similarly unprecedented response.

“This is trying to clarify emergency powers,” Hunt said. “This is not an attack on the governor. … I think he’s done a formidable job in trying to deal with something none of us ever expected to go through.”

“I think we all should be commending [Gov. Inslee] for trying to fight this, and I know we’re dealing with frustration,” he continued. “It’s about more than frustrations. It’s about saving lives and trying to do the best we can to keep our populace healthy and safe. I think this bill will help do that. And it will just clarify some of the things that we can do.”

That sentiment was echoed across the aisle, with Sen. Brad Hawkins (R-12th District) clarifying that these proclamation are usually saved for natural disasters, with built-in expirations on emergency executive authority.

“We’re approaching nearly that two year mark on the governor’s emergency declaration,” Hawkins said. “For those of us that think about our Emergency Powers Act, we never really contemplated something like a global pandemic.”

“It’s really been for things like wildfires and landslides, earthquakes and flooding. Because we have this Legislature that only meets part of the year, I think it is important to have this in terms of our checks and balances,” he added. “I don’t think the bill goes far enough, but oftentimes in this business, … something is better than nothing.”

Follow @http://www.twitter.com/daltonjday