BELLEVUE — Today, Gov. Jay Inslee has lifted the bulk of his COVID-19 restrictions but is still refusing to end his state of emergency order and fully restore Washington’s balance of power:

“It has been a long 487 days under Governor Inslee’s completely arbitrary and ever-changing COVID-19 response plan, while I wish we could all celebrate, the reality is this is long overdue, as we are one of the last states to fully reopen,” said WSRP Chairman Caleb Heimlich. “Our state government was not designed for one man to unilaterally hold emergency powers authority for over a year without a healthy balance of power between the three branches of government. Do not be fooled by Inslee’s pleas that Washington has to remain in a state of emergency because of COVID-19 variants, this is simply a mechanism for him to retain power. Governor Inslee should complete the reopening plan and end the state of emergency.”