Coronavirus cancels public bill signings by Gov. Jay Inslee

To protect the public’s health from COVID-19, Gov. Jay Inslee will not hold public bill signings for any remaining bills from this year’s legislative session.

The governor’s legislative director, Drew Shirk, made the announcement Monday in a message to legislators and legislative staff.

“This is one extra precaution we’re taking to maintain public health standards and minimize COVID-19 exposure in large, social settings,” Shirk said in a statement.

The governor’s office said members of the public can view the bill signings on TVW.

The following can attend the signings if they RSVP, according to the governor’s office: the primary sponsor of a bill and the primary sponsor of the companion bill, legislators and one guest, and journalists.

“We did not make this decision lightly – public access to the bill process is a priority for Gov. Inslee. This recommendation comes from numerous medical and health officials over the past few days, and our office will do all we can to support this recommendation,” Shirk said.

The 60-day legislative session is scheduled to end March 12.

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 1:59 PM.