WA state House adds a 2nd way to speak on Gov. Inslee’s COVID mandates. Sign up soon

When the Washington state Senate started moving a bill that would affect the governor’s emergency powers, it sent a wave over to the House.

That’s according to Rep. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, who is a sponsor of House Bill 1772 — to limit the number of days a governor can make emergency decisions without legislative oversight.

HB 1772 was not getting much attention when it suddenly rose to the surface midweek. Now it has a public hearing scheduled for Monday, Jan. 31, at 1:30 p.m.

Many political observers doubted the House bill would get this far. It didn’t make progress at all last year, but Boehnke said lawmakers continued to lay the groundwork for it during the last year and a half.

“Now is the time. We are seeing a chink in the armor,” Boehnke told The Herald. “We are fighting … but we need people to step up.”

That means citizen comment is critical.

If legislators are going to make any kind of adjustment to the governor’s emergency powers this session, it will require a massive push from the public.

But as of Thursday afternoon, only seven people had signed in to testify on the House bill — and that’s barely a nudge.

But there is still time to rally.

On Wednesday morning, there were 12 people signed up to testify on Senate Bill 5909, but after word spread of the hearing the number jumped to 86 within a day. In addition, over 5,400 people have submitted a position on the bill, which appears to be a new Senate record.

The hearing on SB 5909 was on Friday morning. The same people weighing in on SB 5909 likely will want to participate in the House hearing Monday.

The more people speak up at these hearings, the better. The state level is “where we can make change.” Boehnke said.

For those who believe there should be a hard limit to how long our state governor’s emergency powers should last, HB 1772 is the stronger of the two proposals. It lists 25 legislators as sponsors, and from our region that includes Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, in addition to Boehnke.

If Tri-Citians want to speak at the hearings, they can register online to give remote testimony through the state legislative webpage.

HB 1772 would automatically end the governor’s emergency powers after 60 days. After that, legislative leaders in the House and Senate would have to agree to an extension until a decision can be made by the full Legislature.

SB 5099 is not nearly as forceful. It would set up a process so that legislative leaders can vote to end an emergency proclamation if it has been in place for more than 90 days when the Legislature is out of session.

It isn’t much different than the current system allowing legislators to call for a special session. However, the Senate bill is significant because it’s finally allowing citizens to voice their concerns at a legislative forum.

And, it appears it may have spurred some interest in bringing the House’s emergency powers bill forward.

While many Tri-Citians have complained about mask and vaccine mandates, it is important to note that neither SB 5909 nor HB 1772 will do away with those safety measures.

These bills are not about an end to COVID — but about bringing balance back to state government. They are about allowing the Legislature to do its job.

They are also about ensuring there is a way to rein in future governors, not just our current one.

Gov. Jay Inslee has made saving lives a priority, which is a stance we support.

But during the past two years our legislators — the people’s representatives — have been shut out of the state’s COVID strategy.

The system of checks and balances in Washington state is out of whack, and it is time to put it in order.