Legislative cutoff marks end for these bills that could have become Washington law, at least for now

OLYMPIA – With the session more than halfway over, Wednesday marked the day most bills needed to pass out of their chamber of origin in the Washington legislature to remain alive.

Over the next six weeks, lawmakers will continue to home in on the active legislation, as well as continue efforts to close the state’s budget deficit.

As lawmakers focus on the bills that remain active, here’s a look at some of the bills that ultimately couldn’t find enough support this year:

Limit to emergency powers

Born out of COVID-era frustrations and touted by Gov. Bob Ferguson in his inaugural address, a bill to establish limits to the governor’s emergency powers failed to pass “despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle engaging in good faith negotiation,” the governor said in a statement Tuesday.

“Reform is necessary to protect Washingtonians in times of emergency while ensuring an appropriate balance between the branches of government,” Ferguson added.

Ferguson announced he has implemented limits to the governor’s power during a state emergency, which includes terminating the declarations when the legislature is not in session if three of the four legislative caucus leaders make requests.

If a state of emergency lasts longer than 120 days when the legislature is not in session, Ferguson vowed to call for a special session to allow lawmakers to potentially terminate the order.

In a statement Tuesday, Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Wooley, said he was appreciative of the governor’s steps.

“I welcome the Governor’s proactive approach; it demonstrates his sincere understanding of the issue of unchecked governors’ emergency powers and the important role the legislature plays,” Wagoner said. “This is a win for Washington’s citizens, but it is a perishable win. The legislature needs to codify similar provisions into law.”

During a media availability Thursday, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, praised the governor’s decision to implement the self-imposed limits.

Bill to lower DUI threshold stalls

Legislation to lower the Blood Alcohol Limit (BAC) when driving a vehicle from 0.08 to 0.05 failed to gain traction this session. However, one of the bill’s sponsors indicated Thursday it will likely be considered in future sessions.

The bill, which would have gone into effect next year, would have required the state to conduct a public information campaign to notify residents of the change.

“When you have a 0.05 BAC, it changes people’s behaviors,” said Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond. “It changes how they behave after they consume alcohol, and that is really what we want. We want people to be responsible and not get into the car and drive after they have had too many drinks.”

Utah is currently the only state that has adopted a 0.05 BAC limit for driving. Around the globe, several countries, including Germany, India and Japan, have adopted the 0.05 BAC limit.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously recommended that all states lower their limit to 0.05.

“I think the data is clear,” Dhingra said. “I mean, 75% of the world lives under a 0.05.”

During remarks Thursday, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said he was also disappointed Washington wouldn’t lower the BAC limit. The goal, Batiste said, isn’t to increase the number of DUI arrests, but to increase awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

“Each time we reduce the BAC levels, we reduce fatalities,” Batiste said. “Anything that we can do that puts laws on the books to educate and deter, has helped us over the years.”

Even-year elections and initiative signature verification

Several bills to amend the state’s electoral system ultimately failed, including one that would have allowed cities and towns to shift their elections to even-numbered years through either a vote of residents or an ordinance adopted by the town’s council. A similar proposal cleared the House of Representatives last session, though it died in the Senate.

Sponsors and supporters argued the proposal would increase voter turnout in elections that feature more prominent races at the top of the ticket.

The bill received high-profile opposition, including from Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, who testified in committee that moving local elections to even years would make ballots longer and lead to higher voter drop-off.

“We did not like that because what ends up happening on the ballot is, all of these down-ballot races, there’s drop-off,” Hobbs said Thursday. “This state had everything on even years and went to split it up because people just weren’t voting down the ballot.”

Spokane City Council Member Michael Cathcart also opposed the proposal and introduced a city resolution to do the same.

Another election bill that ultimately died would have required signature gatherers for initiatives to sign a declaration that includes the signature gatherer’s name, address, county of residence and the date they signed the declaration. The bill would also require the secretary of state to verify that the addresses of the petition signer match the state’s voter registration file.

Hobbs, who also testified against the bill in committee, said Thursday he was concerned the bill would ultimately invalidate signatures of legal Washington voters and create another barrier in the process.