House drops vaccination requirement for lawmakers on floor

By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state House has dropped its requirement that lawmakers verify they are vaccinated and boosted in order to attend floor votes in the chamber, and starting Tuesday, the north gallery will reopen to a limited number of members of the public, who must be masked and maintain social distancing. The committee also voted to ban concealed weapons in the gallery, following policy that has been in place in the Senate gallery since 2018. Openly carried weapons have been banned in the galleries for several years. The House set up a metal detector outside of the north gallery over the weekend. The update from the House Executive Rules Committee also increases the number of total lawmakers allowed on the House floor from 27 to 45.