This bill amends existing emergency powers law (RCW 43.06.210 and RCW 43.06.220) and adds new sections to increase legislative involvement and procedural requirements for gubernatorial proclamations and orders during a state of emergency. Proclamations and certain orders must be in writing, signed by the governor, filed with the secretary of state, and are effective on signature. The governor must give as much public notice as practical when issuing them and must give as much notice as practical to legislative leadership and affected local governments for certain orders. The bill changes termination, extension, and oversight procedures for emergencies: a state of emergency ends on the earlier of a governor’s terminating proclamation (which the governor must issue when the underlying order is restored in the affected area), a concurrent resolution of the legislature, or 60 days after proclamation unless the legislature extends it. No single legislative extension may exceed 60 days, though multiple successive extensions are permitted; if the legislature is not in session, the four specified legislative leaders may terminate or extend in writing. It also limits orders that waive or suspend statutes or rules to 30 days unless extended by concurrent resolution, requires orders to include the full text of waived sections and any modifications, and lists exceptions where waiver authority does not apply (where another statewide official has express waiver authority, where federal funding conditions would be violated, or where waivers would conflict with First Amendment rights). The bill adds an enforcement procedure and penalty change: willful violation of an order under RCW 43.06.220 is treated as a civil infraction punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imposed by the implementing agency or by the governor if no agency is responsible. It defines the four members who constitute “leadership of the senate and the house of representatives” for purposes of out-of-session actions. The act takes effect immediately. Important context not included in the provided text: the full text of the referenced RCW sections (43.06.010 and 43.06.200–43.06.270), prior versions of the amended sections, and any other bill sections beyond those excerpted here.

If enacted, the bill would constrain and formalize how the governor declares and manages a state of emergency: proclamations and emergency orders must be written, signed, filed with the secretary of state, and the governor must give public and practical notice to legislative leaders and affected local governments. Emergencies automatically end after 60 days unless the legislature (or, when not in session, the four designated legislative leaders) extend them, and any governor’s waiver or suspension of statutes cannot run more than 30 days without legislative extension; willful violations of such orders become civil infractions punishable up to $1,000. The biggest practical impacts fall on the governor (fewer unilateral options and added paperwork/notice duties), the legislature and its four leaders (new formal authority and possible need to act more often to extend or terminate emergencies), state agencies that must include full text of waived laws and may enforce fines, and local governments that must be notified; this could create timing risks if extensions are not agreed, and some implementation details remain unclear because related RCW sections and broader bill provisions are not included in the extracted text.