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2020 Washington legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Washington: No changes impacting state legislative activities were made.
Washington State Legislature

Seal of Washington.jpg
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 13, 2020
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Cyrus Habib (D)
House Speaker:  Laurie Jinkins (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Andy Billig (D)
House: Pat Sullivan (Washington) (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Mark Schoesler (R)
House: J.T. Wilcox (R)
Structure
Members:  49 (Senate), 98 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art II, Section 2, Washington Constitution
Salary:   $45,474/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Washington State Redistricting Commission has control

In 2020, the Washington State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 13 and adjourn on March 12.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. No modifications to state legislative activity in Washington were made.

At the start of the 2020, Washington was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 29-20 majority in the Senate and a 57-41 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the Washington state House and state Senate.
  • Washington was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Washington’s governor was Democrat Jay Inslee.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Washington was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Washington was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Washington State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Washington State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 29
         Republican Party 20
    Total 49

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Washington State Senate fluctuated, swinging back and forth between the Democratic and Republican parties. Between 2012 and 2018, the chamber also saw a governing coalition involving the Republican caucus and members of the Democratic Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Washington State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Washington State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 28 25 23 28 25 24 26 32 31 27 26 24 25 29
    Republicans 21 24 26 21 24 25 23 17 18 22 23 25 24* 20

    *A Democrat caucused with Republicans, giving the Republican Party a one-member majority.

    From 1992 to 2004, the Democratic and Republican parties both claimed relatively small majorities, the largest being from 1992 to 1994 and 1998 to 2000 when Democrats had seven-member majorites. The Democratic majority spiked following the 2006 election when the party managed to flip six seats, giving Democrats a 32-17 majority. The Democratic majority in the state Senate steadily decreased between 2010 and 2016, expanding again in 2018. In 2014, Republicans established a numerical majority in the chamber, their first since 2002. Overall, the Washington State Senate trended toward Republicans in elections from 2008 to 2016.

    It was during this period—2012 to 2016—that the state Senate saw the emergence of governing coalitions. Following the 2012 elections, Democrats in the Washington Senate had a 26-23 majority. Two Democrats, however, joined with all 23 Senate Republicans to create a 25-24 coalition majority. The two Democrats, Tim Sheldon and Rodney Tom, became president pro tempore and majority leader, respectively.[1] Republicans had a 25-24 majority without the coalition in 2015 and 2016. Republican Pam Roach, with the help of Democrats and Republicans, won the president pro tempore position in 2015.[2] In the 2016 election, that majority flipped to the Democrats, but, because of Sheldon, Republicans were able to maintain a slim 25-24 majority. On January 6, 2017, Republicans announced plans to back Sheldon for president pro tempore. In the Washington Senate, the lieutenant governor is the presiding officer and casts votes in cases of ties. The president pro tempore, a regular voting member of the chamber, presides in the lieutenant governor's absence and generally serves as vice chair of the Senate Rules Committee.[3][4] Democrats regained control of the chamber in a November 2017 special election.[5] Following the 2018 election, Democrats expanded their majority to 29-20.


    Washington House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 57
         Republican Party 41
    Total 98

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Washington House of Representatives passed from Democratic to Republican control before swinging back to Democrats. The table below shows the partisan history of the Washington House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Washington House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 66 40 45 49 49 52 55 63 64 57 55 51 50 57
    Republicans 32 58 53 49 49 46 43 35 34 41 43 47 48 41

    As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 66-32 majority. Republicans gained 26 seats and took control of the chamber in 1994. The GOP held the chamber until the 1998 elections, when the chamber moved to a split 49-49 balance. The split balance was maintained until Democrats regained the chamber in 2002. The Democratic majority expanded until 2008, when the party had a 20-seat advantage. The partisan balance of the state House narrowed after 2008 until, after the 2016 elections, the Democratic majority was reduced to 50-48. In 2018, House Democrats expanded their majority to 57-41.


    Leadership in 2020

    Washington State Senate

    Washington House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Washington state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 43 standing committees in Washington's state government, including seven joint legislative committees, 15 state Senate committees, and 21 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Washington Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XXIII of the Washington State Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Washington

    The Washington Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Washington requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XXIII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. In Washington, a referred constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber of the Washington State Legislature during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 66 votes in the Washington House of Representatives and 33 votes in the Washington State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XXIII of the Washington State Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Washington State Legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. If a simple majority of voters approve the question, then the legislature needs to call for a convention during its next session.


    Historical context: All years:

    • A total of 121 measures appeared on the statewide ballot in Washington through all years (even and odd) from the 20-year period between 1999 and 2019.
    • From 1999 to 2019, the number of measures on the statewide ballot ranged from two to 15.
    • Between 1999 and 2019, 57% (69) of the total number of measures that appeared on the statewide ballot were approved, and 43% (52) were defeated.
    • Between 1999 and 2019, an average of six measures appeared on the ballot in Washington each year.

    Even years:

    • A total of 60 measures appeared on the statewide ballot in Washington during even years from the 18-year period between 2000 and 2018. 58% (35) were approved and 42% (25) were defeated.

    Odd years:

    • A total of 61 measures appeared on the statewide ballot in Washington during odd years from the 20-year period between 1999 and 2019. 56% (34) were approved and 44% (27) were defeated.
    Washington statewide ballot measures, 1999-2019
    Years Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Annual average Annual median Annual minimum Annual maximum
    Even years 60 35 58.33% 25 41.67% 6.00 5 3 9
    Odd years 61 34 55.74% 27 44.26% 5.55 5 2 15
    All years 121 69 57.02% 52 42.98% 5.76 5 2 15


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Washington.

    Washington Party Control: 1992-2024
    Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate R D D D D R R D D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R[6] D D D D D D D
    House D D D R R R R S S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Washington State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    Washington State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Democratic duo joins with GOP to shake up state Senate," December 10, 2012
    2. ↑ The Seattle Times, "In twist, Democrats elevate GOP state Sen. Pam Roach to leadership," January 12, 2015
    3. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Sen. Tim Sheldon picked as president pro-tem of GOP-controlled state Senate," January 6, 2017
    4. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Race for Washington lieutenant governor a study in contrasts," September 28, 2016
    5. ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "Democrats take control of Washington State Senate," November 8, 2017
    6. ↑ Democrats gained full control of the state Senate after a special election on November 7, 2017.
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