OLYMPIA — Gov. Bob Ferguson is pledging to limit his own emergency powers after a bill he backed to place new limits on that authority hit the skids amid reported tensions with fellow Democrats.
The announcement from Ferguson further distances him from the approach of his predecessor, fellow Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who broadly exercised emergency powers as governor for in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inslee showed little interest in limiting those powers, which he defended as necessary to save lives and protect the public at the height of the pandemic.
But Ferguson had signaled during his inaugural address in January that he’d welcome reforms to emergency powers. He pledged at the time to work with Republicans on such changes.
In a statement Tuesday, Ferguson said he’ll commit to terminate any declared state of emergency after 60 days upon request from leaders of three of the four legislative caucuses.
In addition, Ferguson said he’d call a special session of the Legislature if an emergency has been in place longer than 120 days while the Legislature is not in session to give lawmakers “the opportunity to terminate an emergency order or declaration.”
“Reform is necessary to protect Washingtonians in times of emergency while ensuring an appropriate balance between the branches of government,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson’s statement said this voluntary policy will remain in place as long as he is governor unless the Legislature passes bipartisan legislation amending the powers.
The governor’s announcement came as a bill he supported appeared to be foundering in the Legislature.
That proposal, Senate Bill 5434, which was led by Republicans but had some Democratic co-sponsors, would allow the Legislature to terminate a governor-declared state of emergency by a majority vote while in session. If lawmakers were not in session, legislative caucus leaders could end the emergency if it had been in place for more than 90 days.
The Washington State Standard reported Tuesday that the measure was unlikely to pass before upcoming legislative deadlines, with a key Democratic state senator laying blame on the governor.
“He didn’t work with us on any changes,” Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, chair of the State Government, Tribal Affairs & Election Committee, told The Standard. “If this was going to be a truly bipartisan bill, the governor’s office needed to be talking to not only one side but needed to be talking to both sides.”
The chief sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Woolley, praised Ferguson’s efforts in a statement released by the governor’s office. He called Ferguson’s announcement of voluntary emergency power limits “a win” for Washington citizens, but a “perishable” one.
“The legislature needs to codify similar provisions into law,” Wagoner said.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Inslee’s used emergency powers — granted to the governor generations ago by the Legislature — to order shutdowns of public gatherings and businesses in the early stages of the crisis.
As it wore on, Inslee gradually rolled back some of those restrictions but put others in place, including mask mandates and vaccination requirements for state employees and school and health care workers.
Republicans had long complained such restrictions were unnecessary infringements on liberty and had irreparably harmed businesses. But lawsuits challenging the orders were repeatedly rejected by judges who affirmed the governor’s legal authority.
Inslee argued the state’s strict public health approach, including his orders, should be credited with keeping Washington’s per capita pandemic death rate among the lowest in the country.
He declared the COVID-19 state of emergency — first imposed on February 29, 2020 — would end on Oct. 31, 2022.
