Governors' executive orders over the years
Gov. Dixy Lee Ray issued several executive orders in 1980 that related to the Mount St. Helens eruption. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives)
They might lack the authority and consensus of legislatively approved state laws, but executive orders are a powerful way that Washington’s governors have made things happen in state government over the years. Executive orders are formal orders issued by the governor, generally to cabinet agencies statewide, requiring that certain actions be taken. They may have the force and effect of a law. One historic use of these orders came in connected with the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. More recently, Gov. Jay Inslee used executive orders to deal with climate change. The Washington State Library is a portal you can use to look up past executive orders going back to 1918, linking to Gov. Inslee’s website. You can view the Executive Orders Archive here. This archive also covers Govs. Chris Gregoire, Gary Locke, Mike Lowry, Booth Gardner, John Spellman, Dixy Lee Ray, Dan Evans, Albert Rosellini, Arthur Langlie, Louis Hart and Ernest Lister. Evans (1965-77) began what could be called the golden age of executive orders. He had the most executive orders (117) of any governor included in the archive, which is not surprising considering he served three terms. Spellman was also a prolific user of executive orders, issuing 90 in his one term (1981-85) in office. Gardner ranked third with 75 over his two terms (1985-1993) in the Governor’s Mansion. Ray issued 54 in her one term (1977-81). Washington’s governors haven’t taken the executive order route as often lately. Lowry issued them only 33 times (1993-1997) and Locke even less often (31 orders) during his two terms (1997-2005). Gregoire issued 42 executive orders during her two terms (2005-2013) in office. And how many executive orders has current Gov. Inslee issued? So far, 23. In the early decades of our state, governors’ executive orders occasionally dealt with office hours. On Nov. 27, 1918, Lister issued an order declaring that, effective Dec. 1, 1918, all departments under the governor would be open for business at 8:30 a.m., returning to “the 8:00 A.M. schedule on March 1st, 1919.” On June 6, 1941, Langlie issued an order declaring that office hours for all offices under the governor would be open weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. During his term in office, Langlie issued six orders dealing with office hours. In 1980, during her last year in office, Ray issued six executive orders related to the Mount St. Helens eruption. Her first was issued on April 30, 1980, just weeks after the mountain awoke from a slumber that lasted more than a century. That order limited entry into the “red zone” area surrounding St. Helens. On May 19, 1980, one day after the cataclysmic eruption that blew off St. Helens’ summit, killed 57 people, blew down thousands of acres of timber and sent plumes of ash hundreds of miles, Ray issued an order that suspended and postponed special elections occurring that spring in Spokane, Lincoln and Grant counties, and an election in Cowlitz County’s School District 401, all areas impacted by the May 18 blast. On May 25, 1980, Ray issued an amended executive order that extended the red zone to a radius of 20 miles surrounding the mountain and prohibiting the public from entering the zone, with few exceptions. Spellman, who succeeded Ray, issued 15 executive orders about St. Helens, including several that amended earlier orders.(html)
Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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