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Not every state law is an emergency, says Bailey
Oak Harbor lawmaker concerned of overuse, abuse of
emergency clause
A measure that would
require a 60 percent approval vote from the Legislature before an emergency
clause could be attached to any legislation was introduced Tuesday by
Rep.
Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.
In the Legislature an
emergency clause added to a bill allows the measure to become law
immediately after the governor signs it. Other bills must wait until 90
days after the legislative session ends. The clause also exempts a bill
from the referendum process, preventing citizens from changing the law.
In the last two years,
lawmakers have attached emergency clauses to 447 bills. Bailey says
that's far too many and she worries that the clause is being
used not for emergencies, but to intentionally circumvent voters' ability
to challenge a law through the referendum process.
"Not every state law is an
emergency. The authors of our state constitution allowed for this
provision of an emergency clause because they recognized that at times
government must respond with legislation 'necessary
for the immediate preservation of public peace, health or safety,
support of state government and its existing public institutions,'"
said Bailey, quoting from the Washington Constitution. "In other words,
it has to be a real emergency.
"Now we have legislators
adding emergency clauses on nearly any bill of significance," Bailey
added. "And what concerns me the most is potential abuse by lawmakers
who may apply the emergency clause in a bill not for an emergency, but
as a means to prevent citizens from changing legislation."
Under Bailey's
House Joint Resolution 4218, 60 percent of the Legislature would
have to agree before an emergency clause could be added to a bill.
Because use of the emergency clause is written into the state's
constitution, it requires a vote of the people to make a change. Bailey
said if the Legislature approves her measure, Washington voters would
get the final say on whether to tighten the emergency clause provisions.
"During the 2005 session,
nearly 100 emergency clauses were added to bills. One was a bill that
made it easier for lawmakers to raise taxes by requiring only a simple
majority vote. And because it contained an emergency clause, voters were
prevented from doing anything to repeal that law," said Bailey. "Since
1912 our citizens have had the cherished right to make and remake their
laws through initiatives and referenda. No one should deny this freedom
from our citizens.
"When government powers
are abused, all citizens suffer," added Bailey. "That's why this
resolution is so important. It will protect citizens and ensure that
when an emergency clause is added to a bill, it is done so because a
legitimate emergency exists."
The measure has been
referred to the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee.
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For more information, contact: John
Sattgast, Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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