A Senate bill installing new guard rails on a governor’s emergency powers is set for a key vote Friday, due in large part to a phone call from Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson.

The Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Election Committee will consider Senate Bill 5434, which days earlier appeared destined for inaction because it had not even received a hearing, a required first stop in the legislative process.

The situation changed soon after Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Wooley, reached out to Ferguson’s advisors to see if their boss might get involved. Wagoner remembered Ferguson said during his inaugural address he backed “reasonable limits” on gubernatorial emergency powers.

Ferguson phoned the committee chair, Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, who, following the conversation, slotted the bill for a hearing on Feb. 14 and Friday’s vote.

“The governor called me himself and asked me to consider the bill,” Valdez said. “Obviously that carries some weight.”

Ferguson said he was just “doing what I can to be helpful in moving that forward, I’m optimistic we’ll get it done.”

Under Washington law, when a governor declares a state of emergency, they can prohibit a wide range of activities for the purpose of preserving and maintaining life, health, property and public safety. They also can waive enforcement of rules and legal obligations affecting all walks, public and private. An emergency declaration remains in effect until the governor cancels it.

Any waivers or suspensions of limits or obligations in state law are restricted to 30 days unless extended by resolution by the Legislature, if it is in session, or in writing by leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives, if it is out of session.

Wagoner’s bill authorizes the Legislature, if it is in session, to end a state of emergency by passage of a resolution in each chamber on a simple majority vote.

“It doesn’t curb the power of a governor. It just sets a time limit when the Legislature gets a chance to be involved,” Wagoner said.

If the Legislature is not in session, and if more than 90 days have passed since a governor declared a state of emergency, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives can end it with a written agreement.

And the legislation also sets a 30-day limit on prohibited activities during a declared emergency, unless the Legislature agrees to extend the ban.

State lawmakers last updated provisions in the emergency powers law in 2019. But, Wagner said, it failed then to provide the Legislature a say in how long declarations remain in force.

That issue was a flashpoint of fierce legislative debate throughout the pandemic.

Former Gov. Jay Inslee declared an emergency Feb. 29, 2020, a month after the first known case of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. had been reported in Snohomish County. It lasted until Oct. 31, 2022.

In between, Inslee issued 85 different orders including ones closing public schools and shuttering businesses. There were mask mandates, vaccination requirements for health care and education workers and limits on how many people could gather in one place.

As the months wore on, Republicans argued with increasing intensity that the emergency had ended and Inslee was abusing his powers. They sought — and eventually some Democrats joined them — to give the Legislature a voice. In the 2022 session, the Democrat-led Senate passed a bill enabling legislative leaders to end a declaration after 90 days. It didn’t get voted on in the House.

Wagoner’s bill is sponsored by 17 legislators — 13 Republicans and 4 Democrats — and Ferguson.

“The one thing we did learn is we don’t get to choose the time, place or manner of the next emergency,” Wagoner said. “We can decide right now to be better prepared for it.”

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