Senate doubles number of senators allowed on floor

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As COVID-19 cases continue to drop across the state, the Washington Senate will double the number of senators allowed on the chamber floor from 15 to 30 starting next week.

The Democratic-majority Senate Facilities and Operations Committee met via Zoom on Friday morning to discuss updating the COVID-19 protocols as they near the halfway mark of the 60-day session that began Jan. 10.

Under the plan unanimously approved by the committee, floor action will continue to be mostly conducted in a hybrid format with a majority of the chamber’s 49 members participating in-person, and some members participating remotely. The maximum number of lawmakers allowed on the floor will be 30: 16 Democrats and 14 Republicans.

As before, a maximum of three staff members per caucus will be permitted in the Senate wings during floor action. And all members and staff who plan to be at the Capitol will continue to be required to have a confirmed on-site negative test before entering Senate facilities, regardless of vaccination status, with testing costs to be covered by the Senate.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-doubles-number-of-senators-allowed-on-floor/ar-AATuqGk

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1. WA House quadruples number of lawmakers allowed on floor

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington House is increasing the total number of lawmakers allowed on the chamber floor to 20 from five, starting Wednesday.

Bernard Dean, the chief clerk of the House, said Monday that the Executive Rules Committee approved the update to the chamber's COVID-19 policy on Friday. Floor action will continue to be mostly conducted in a hybrid format with most of the chamber’s 98 members participating remotely.

The vote was taken the same day the Senate approved doubling the number of its senators in its 49-member chamber from 15 to 30.

Meetings of the House Executive Rules Committee, which officials say are conducted mostly by phone and email, are not advertised in advance and are closed to the press. The Senate equivalent, the Facilities and Operations Committee, sends out alerts about upcoming agenda topics and allows members of the press to call in to meetings, as they did on Friday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/wa-house-quadruples-number-of-lawmakers-allowed-on-floor/ar-AATA2hm