Sunday, July 22nd marked the 90th day since the adjournment of the 60th session of the Washington Legislature (my, it feels like it was just yesterday). And, as our constitution sets forth, all laws not otherwise subject to an "emergency clause" went into effect at midnight. The AP gets it here. The focus is on WASL, sex ed, and then the parade of sillies, like the crowning of the official state vegetable (Walla Walla sweet), amphibian (Pacific Chorus Frog), and sailing ship (Lady Washington). Meanwhile, the AWB Legislative Review hits the mail this week, showcasing what we think was good, bad, and ugly this last session.
An aside. The meter at WashingtonVotes.org shows that in 2007, 2,592 bills were introduced and (fortunately) only a fifth, 522, became law. About 440 went into effect Sunday which means about 80 were subject to "emergency clauses," that constitutional declaration that a law is necessary for the immediate protection of public peace, health, or safety, or for support of state government, thereby causing the bill to go into effect immediately and, for all intents and purposes, be immune from a citizen referendum. The insulation from citizen referendum is what makes the Because-I-Say-So nature of emergency clauses so controversial (the court system won't review the truth or falsity of legislative declarations of emergency unless they are "obviously untrue or a palpable attempt at dissimulation"). In fact, Rep. Barb Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, was so incensed about this she offered amendments to strip virtually every emergency clause attached in 2007. Governor Gregoire got in on the act, turning back many an emergency clause with her veto pen.
522 new laws in a session would be a record, but for the prodigious work of the 2005 Legislature, in the last 105-day session, which passed a record 523 laws. (Unless you have a copy of the unlinkable Session Laws handy, you'll have to take my word for this). 2005 was also the year where indiscriminate use of the emergency clause became a matter of debate, mostly through a lawsuit brought by the Farm Bureau and Evergreen Freedom Foundation over that year's budget. That year, 98 bills carried emergency clauses.
To summarize: A whole lot of new rights, obligations, and fits of silliness are now officially law. And while there is no discernible end to the desire to legislate in off-election years, at least the emergency clause controversy of late has led to about a 20% curtailment on a potential legislative abuse.
