In Washington state, lawmakers are increasingly adding emergency clauses to bills that aren’t all that urgent. In so doing, the bills become law as soon as the governor signs them and they are immune to public challenges by referendum. Nearly 20 percent of bills passed in the 2005 legislative session were deemed emergencies, according to a count by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. The state Constitution defines an emergency as “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions.”

Some recent emergency legislation includes a failed attempt to create a Potato Commission, adding a $1 fee to tires and altering regulations for manure trucks. Clearly, this emergency-clause spree is an affront to the intent of the state Constitution.

Some lawmakers have introduced legislation to amend the constitution to require a two-thirds majority to adopt emergency clauses. But the amendment itself would require a two-thirds legislative majority before being sent to voters. That could take years. Or it may never happen. The best course is for the Legislature to police itself by respecting the role carved out for the public in the legislative process.

Emergency clauses are popular on the federal level, too. The war in Iraq has been the subject of five emergency spending bills, and the administration just called for another supplemental boost of $70 billion. The war is not an unexpected cost, but the administration and Congress keep treating it like one. And it’s not just the war. The Congressional Budget Office has tracked a dramatic increase in emergency spending, finding an average of $50 billion a year from 1999 to 2002. Before that, the average was $7 billion a year.

It’s no secret why this is happening. Emergency bills are not subject to spending caps imposed by Congress. Taking so much spending “off budget” makes it difficult for the public to know the fiscal health of the nation. But it makes it easy for budget writers to profess fealty to spending discipline.

Lawmakers should deliver an honest accounting, not false alarms.