Washington Legislature shifts upcoming session partly online due to omicron threat

(The Center Square) – Following a similar move by the House earlier, the Washington State Senate will operate in hybrid mode when the 60-day 2022 legislative session convenes on Jan. 10.

The change from a plan agreed upon in November allowing all members on the floor provided they tested negative for COVID-19 was prompted by the spread of the highly contagious but apparently less virulent omicron variant of coronavirus.

“In light of recent developments related to the Omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus, and based on guidance from the State Department of Health, the Facilities & Operations Committee adopted the following changes [Tuesday],” said Deputy Secretary of the Senate Sarah Bannister in an email to The Center Square.

As was the case with the House, the vote in the Senate broke down along party lines, 4-3, with all three Republicans on the committee voting against the change.

“All in-person meetings are suspended,” Bannister said. “Visitors and members of the public will not be permitted in Senate facilities.”

The changes include suspending all in-person meetings and only allowing 15 members on the floor at once – not including the presiding officer and other staff, eight Democrats and seven Republicans.

“Floor action will be conducted in a hybrid format with some members participating in-person on the Senate floor and some members participating remotely,” Bannister explained.

A maximum of three staff members per caucus will be permitted in the Senate wings during floor action.

The Senate plan continues the requirement that members and staff working on campus receive a negative COVID-19 test before entering Senate facilities. Tests are offered by the Senate three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Public access to the galleries is still under review, according to the new guidance.

In essence, operations will return to how things looked last year.

“The Senate will reassess this plan at least every two weeks and make adjustments as conditions allow,” Bannister said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the state had 899,036 confirmed or probable cases since the start of the pandemic and 9,909 recorded deaths, for a fatality rate of 1.1%, per the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

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