Washington state legislators kicked off their short, 60-day legislative session with a long list of issues. As of Jan. 13, more than 800 new bills have been introduced, in addition to the nearly 1,000 measures carried over from last year’s session.

Committee hearings and floor action in both chambers took place last week under strict COVID protocols, with limited in-person participation by lawmakers and only remote testimony by members of the public.

Under one of the rules in the state Senate this session, members and their staff must present a negative COVID test before being allowed in the chamber or their offices. Senator Phil Fortunato (R-Auburn) was escorted out of the legislative building last week because he did not submit the required negative test.

In a radio interview, Sen. Fortunato said the testing rule is “arbitrary, illogical,” and that he intends to push back against any new rules on the matter. He said that he believes the policy is unconstitutional and that because he is elected, he has a right to represent his constituents and a constitutional right to be in the building.

The House and Senate took a number of floor votes last week, re-passing selected legislation that missed the cut-off deadlines last year with mostly unanimous or near unanimous votes. Among these are SB 5148, which deals with harassment of election officials; HB 1329 requiring public agencies to provide for remote testimony or comment by members of the public; and HB 1141 which would allow health care providers other than a physician to provide services under Washington’s Death with Dignity Act. It would also reduce the 15-day waiting period between the first and second requests for medications under the Act to 72 hours. The bill passed by the same margin as it did last year with a 58-37 vote.

These and other re-passed legislation will now go to the opposite chamber for further consideration.

With shortened cut-off deadlines this session, lawmakers will have little time to work through all of the bills before them. The first deadline is Feb. 3, the last day for committees to act on bills in the house of origin, and Feb. 15 is the last day for either house to pass its own bills. The regular session is scheduled to adjourn on March 10.

Among the most pressing issues for lawmakers this session is the effort to constrain the ongoing emergency powers exercised by Governor Inslee during the pandemic. He declared a state of emergency on Feb. 29, 2020 and without consulting the legislature has issued numerous proclamations, including vaccine mandates, school closures and bans on large gatherings.

HB 1772, introduced last week, would require the legislature to be consulted on any emergency longer than 60 days, give lawmakers the power to end a state of emergency, and prohibit the governor from reinstating the same or similar state of emergency when the original has expired.

So far, one Democrat, Rep. Mike Chapman (D-Port Angeles), has joined more than a dozen Republicans in sponsoring the bill, which has been referred to the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee.

See WashingtonVotes.org for legislative updates.