Rules? What rules? WA Senate Democrats drop 24-hour hold in last minute push to pass tax bills

The clock is ticking in the Washington State Senate, and with just eleven days left until sine die — the formal end of the 2025 legislative session — lawmakers are ditching the usual slowdown tactics and shifting into full-speed mode.

One of the first rules to go? The 24-hour signature hold.

Normally, when a Senate committee votes to move a bill forward, that decision has to sit for a full 24 hours — a built-in grace period meant to give lawmakers time to finalize signatures, weigh their options, and allow for last-minute changes or objections. Think of it as the legislative version of sleeping on a big decision.

But not anymore.

Senate Resolution 8654 passed on a voice vote, with nearly all Democrats voicing a strong yes and Republicans offering a firm no. The 24-hour hold is now officially waived for the final stretch. If a bill gets the green light from a committee and collects enough signatures on its majority report, it can head straight to the Senate workroom — no pause, no delay, no red tape.

“What we realized this year is that there’s a potential gap for bills that are happening late in the session and are necessary to implement the budget,” Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) said when introducing the motion on the Senate floor.

Why it matters

This fast-tracking move doesn’t just mean a quicker turnaround — it also opens the floodgates for a final wave of legislation. Lawmakers now have a chance to push through proposals that might otherwise have been stalled by procedural roadblocks.

And it’s not just smaller policy bills getting the express treatment. Budget bills — operating, transportation, capital — were already exempt from the 24-hour rule. But now, all bills and appointments are getting the same privilege.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee is expected to hear several multi-billion-dollar tax proposals just hours after the rule change took effect.

The risk of rushed decisions

But with speed comes risk. Critics argue that bypassing the 24-hour window cuts out an important moment for transparency and collaboration. It limits the time committee members — and the public — have to weigh in before a bill is pushed forward.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Drew MacEwen (R-Mason County) voiced his opposition, noting that lawmakers are near the end of a grueling 105-day session — and that Democrats had plenty of time to introduce new tax proposals earlier.

“Frankly, it would give the public more time to hear the proposals. To make the rule change now, because it’s been jammed, is inappropriate and a misuse of the rule,” he said.

On Monday, a controversial rule change played out in the House during a five-and-a-half-hour floor debate over SB 5181 — changes to the Parent Bill of Rights.

Back in January, House Democrats tweaked a long-standing rule that had required two-thirds of all senators present to approve setting a floor date for debate. Now, it only takes a simple majority — something the Democrats have in abundance, and Republicans do not.

That new rule was invoked twice — once to end debate on an amendment, and again to close discussion on the final passage of the bill.

Now, with the 24-hour speed bump out of the way, Senate Democrats have cleared one more obstacle to quickly pass legislation before the session’s scheduled end on April 27.

Follow @https://twitter.com/mattmarkovich