Yakima Valley lawmakers take aim at emergency powers again in 2022 legislative session

A new Washington legislative session is set to begin Monday, and lawmakers representing Yakima County are eager to go to work.

State Sens. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, and Curtis King, R-Yakima, as well as Reps. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, Jeremie Dufault, R-Selah, and Gina Mosbrucker, R-Goldendale, shared their priorities for the upcoming legislative session in interviews.

For the second year in a row, a top item on their agenda is pulling back Gov. Jay Inslee’s emergency powers. Lawmakers also said they would work to repeal or reform payroll tax laws, revise the budget, reduce rural roadway deaths, support missing and murdered Indigenous people and more. Here’s what you need to know:

Remote meetings, at least to start

The House and Senate will be operating in a mostly remote format when the 60-day regular legislative session starts Monday, though officials will revisit the operating plans every two weeks.

The House plan will allow two representatives from each caucus to be on the floor in person, with the rest of the lawmakers participating remotely. All representatives on the House floor are required to show proof of vaccination, and lawmakers and staff working in person will participate in a testing program. Corry, Chandler, Dufault and Mosbrucker all said they are vaccinated.

In the Senate, there is no vaccine requirement, but all members and staff working in person must participate in a testing program and have a confirmed negative test before entering Senate facilities, according to the updated session plan. Up to 15 senators — eight Democrats and seven Republicans — will be allowed to participate in-person on the Senate floor, while all other members will participate remotely.

Committee hearings in the House and Senate will be held remotely.

Local lawmakers said the remote start could impact lawmaking, and they say it already has. Corry said lawmakers didn’t communicate as well during last year’s remote session.

“We weren’t able to work out issues as easily or as quickly, and I think it raised a lot of tensions unnecessarily,” he said. “My goal is to get back in person as quickly as possible.”

Corry said he’ll be working from his office in Olympia.

Dufault said the remote format limits public access, transparency and bipartisan collaboration in the House. He said he’ll be working remotely from Selah, where he can meet with constituents in person.

Mosbrucker said she is prepared to work remotely from Yakima County or from her office in Olympia, but she hopes to speak in-person on the days her bills are on the floor.

“I wish that we were all in person and back together,” Mosbrucker said. “I feel like we have a stronger voice when we’re in the Capitol building and we’re doing our work. I understand that I don’t want to be responsible for getting someone else sick. Not a staff member, not other colleagues.”

Honeyford said part of lawmaking is personal interaction with other members and reading reactions and body language. It’s difficult to do those things in a virtual format, he said. He plans to participate from his office in Olympia.

King, who will also be working from his office in Olympia and periodically participating in person, said the Legislature should do everything it can to have lawmakers work in person during the session.

“We need to get back to some semblance of how we normally operate, and we can do that and still be safe,” King said, mentioning precautions like being vaccinated, wearing face coverings and physically distancing.

Limiting emergency powers

Honeyford, King, Corry, Dufault and Mosbrucker all said they would support bills to limit the governor’s emergency powers.

Inslee issued a state of emergency on Feb. 29, 2020, in response to growing cases of COVID-19 in the state. Under the order, health requirements and limitations on businesses and gatherings have been implemented, and the governor’s office was able to access and distribute federal emergency funds and support.

The governor has power under the current law to issue emergency orders that “he or she reasonably believes should be prohibited to help preserve and maintain life, health, property or the public peace.”

Honeyford said the law giving the governor emergency powers should be revised to require legislative approval for an emergency order after 30 days. He is a secondary sponsor for Senate Bill 5039, which does just that.

“I believe that legislators are closer to the people, and they need to have input into what the governor is doing,” Honeyford said.

King also said lawmakers should have input on emergency measures after a certain amount of time. He is also a secondary sponsor for SB 5039.

“We know how to deal with (COVID-19),” King said. “It doesn’t mean that it isn’t a problem, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a challenge. But it’s no longer an emergency, and we need to take back the responsibility that we have as a Legislature.”

Corry, Dufault and Mosbrucker support legislation in the House that would require legislative approval to extend a governor’s emergency proclamation beyond 30 days. For that, Corry and Dufault support HB 1060.

Corry also introduced HB 1772, which he said limits emergency orders to 60 days and includes an option to continue an emergency order with approval from the Legislature. He said there are times where the governor can respond more quickly than the Legislature, but that this change to the law would restore balance.

“We’ve been living under these orders for almost two years now,” Corry said. “This allows people a voice.”

Taxes, budget, transportation and more

Honeyford, King, Chandler and Dufault said they’d like to pull back the Long Term Care Tax, which requires employees to contribute wages to pay for long-term care benefits.

Honeyford said he is interested in repealing or reforming the payroll tax, which was supposed to start Jan. 1 before being delayed. The legislation as passed has problems for people who will pay into the program without needing or being able to use the funds, Honeyford said, such as those nearing retirement age, veterans, people who live out of state and work in Washington, or people who move out of state.

Dufault said he supports fully repealing the Long Term Care Tax and the Capital Gains Tax that went into effect Jan. 1 on the sale of stocks, bonds, some property, businesses and other investments if they exceed $250,000 annually.

Mosbrucker said her focus is on public safety and protecting victims. She said her priority is fixing bills that affect law enforcement response, vehicular pursuit, and use of force or other tactics. Another priority is supporting missing and murdered Indigenous people, she said.

Mosbrucker’s HB 1571 would:

• Allow tribal members to honor or recognize the passing of a found Indigenous person before their body is moved by authorities.
• Enact an alert system for when an Indigenous person goes missing or is abducted.
• Start a pilot program that offers medical, mental health and other resources for survivors of human trafficking.
• Designate money for stickers and other signage at truck stops, gas stations and hotels that display information for anti-trafficking hotlines.
• Require law enforcement to search the jail booking system for missing Indigenous people.

A focus for Honeyford is SB 5509, which would eliminate fentanyl test strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia, and SB 5524, which would impose a life sentence in prison for people who distribute a fentanyl product which then results in a death.

Corry filed HB 1605, which he said would help reduce traffic deaths and accidents most often seen on rural roads after vehicles cross the center line. The bill would establish a funding program to widen roadway shoulders, improve roadway markings, and install rumble strips, signage, lighting and more.

Chandler said his focus will be getting a handle on the budget. Corry also hopes to revise the budget and put surplus funds in a rainy day fund, he said.