A last-ditch effort to bring up a vote on a bi-partisan measure to curb the governor’s emergency powers failed in the House on Friday. House Democrats closed ranks and voted down a motion by minority Republicans (HCR 4402) to bring back HB 1557 for a recorded floor vote. The bill did not survive an earlier legislative cut-off date.

The motion was defeated by a straight party-line 56-41 vote. HB 1557 would have limited the governor’s emergency proclamations to 60 days unless an extension is approved by the Legislature, a safeguard that is standard in other states. Governor Inslee has governed the state by executive order for over 400 days under his sole emergency powers. Under current law, only he will decide when a public emergency is over.

On Tuesday evening, the House spent four and a half hours debating nearly two dozen amendments to SB 5096, the proposed income tax on capital gains bill that passed the Senate by a narrow 25-24 vote in early March.

The House version of the bill contains language stating that the proposed tax is “necessary for the support of state government and its existing public institutions.” This language is identical to the wording of a formal emergency clause that would prevent a referendum vote by the people later this year. The emergency clause language was specifically rejected by the Senate before it first sent the bill to the House.

Opponents in the House said that the current language in the bill amounts to a “stealth emergency clause” and proposed amendments to remove this language, to clarify that it does not constitute an emergency clause, and to specifically add a referendum clause to submit the bill to a vote of the people. All these amendments were rejected along party-line votes.

Debate on the bill and a House vote is scheduled for later today. If passed by the House, the bill will go back to the Senate for approval or rejection of the House version.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Tuesday took final action on a number of bills that were changed in the House and sent back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. Among these are:

• SB 5066, to require peace officers to intervene when they see another peace officer engaging in the use of excessive force, and to report it to their supervisor. The bill passed on Final Passage by a 31-18 vote and now goes to Gov. Inslee, who is expected to sign it.

• SB 5038, to ban the open carry of guns and other weapons at the Capitol campus and at or near permitted public demonstrations statewide. By a 28-21 vote, the Senate agreed to changes made by the House, most notably the addition of an emergency clause which would prevent a

vote by the people on the measure later this year. The only Democrat voting against the bill was Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-Mason County). The bill is headed to the governor’s desk for his signature

• SB 5044, to mandate equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism training for school board directors, district staff, and school staff. The bill passed on Final Passage by a 29-19 vote and is headed to the governor’s desk for his signature. Similar bills mandating such training at public community colleges and universities passed the Senate on Final Passage on Monday. A bill requiring such training in the state’s medical schools (SB 5228) was signed into law by Gov. Inslee last Friday.

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