Washington § 44.04.012 - Special legislative session — Legislature may convene.

The legislature may convene a special legislative session as follows:

(1) A resolution calling for convening a special legislative session shall set forth the date and time for convening the session, the duration of the session which shall not exceed 30 days, together with the purpose or purposes for which the session is called. Members of the house of representatives or senate may present a proposed resolution for the convening of a special legislative session to the committee on rules of their respective houses.

(2) The authority to place a resolution convening a special legislative session before the legislature is vested in the committee on rules of the house of representatives and the committee on rules of the senate.

(3) Upon a majority vote of both the committee on rules of the house of representatives and the committee on rules of the senate in favor of a resolution convening a special legislative session, a vote of the house of representatives and senate shall be taken on such resolution.

(4) The chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate shall conduct the vote on the resolution by written ballot of the members of their respective houses under such procedures as may be ordered by the committee on rules of their house. The results of such vote shall be transmitted to the members of the legislature and shall be a public record and shall be entered upon the journal of the house of representatives and senate at the convening of the next legislative session.

(5) If two-thirds of the members elected or appointed to each house vote in favor of the resolution, then a special legislative session shall be convened in accordance with the resolution.

Finding—2022 c 150: "Article II, section 12 of the state Constitution provides that special legislative sessions may be convened by resolution of the legislature through an affirmative vote in both chambers of two-thirds of the members elected. Such vote may take place either during the legislative session or "during any interim between sessions in accordance with such procedures as the legislature may provide by law or resolution." The legislature finds that in order to act swiftly and effectively when the need for a special session arises during an interim, as well as preserve continuity of process, the procedures for calling itself into special session should be memorialized in law." [ 2022 c 150 s 1.]