On March 31, 2025, the Governor's Office received an appeal from Bianca Williams, relating to the Office of Insurance Commissioner's denial of a petition to amend or repeal WAC Chapter 308-124 (Real estate—Definitions and brief adjudicative proceedings); WAC 284-30-150 (Duties of insurers); WAC 284-30-160 (Enforcement); RCW 19.86.020 (Unfair competition, practices, declared unlawful); and RCW 48.30.015 (Unreasonable denial of a claim for coverage or payment of benefits). The appeal was denied on May 15, 2025.

On March 31, 2025, the Governor's Office received the appeal you filed in response to the Office of Insurance Commissioner's (OIC) decision to deny your petition to amend WAC 284-30-150, WAC 284-30-160, Chapter 308-124 WAC, WAC 308-124-160, RCW 19.86.020, and RCW 48.30.015. Under RCW 34.05.330(3), an agency's denial of a petition to repeal or amend a rule may be appealed to the Governor. However, the Governor lacks jurisdiction under this statute to consider an appeal of other matters, such as an agency's denial of a petition to adopt a new rule. See RCW 34.05.330(3).

On February 3, 2025, you petitioned OIC to amend WAC 284-30-150, WAC 284-30-160, Chapter 308-124 WAC, WAC 308-124-160, RCW 19.86.020, RCW 48.30.015, and RCW 19.86.020. OIC denied your petition on March 31, 2025. RCW 19.86.020 and RCW 48.30.015 are statutes, meaning they cannot be amended through a rulemaking petition. WAC 284-30-150 and WAC 284-30-160 are regulations that have been repealed, meaning they are no longer in effect and cannot be amended. Chapter 308-124 WAC is administered by the Department of Licensing; OIC does not have authority to make amendments to regulations in that chapter. Further, you mention a "WAC 308-124-160," but no regulation exists under that number. In denying your petition, OIC correctly responded that it cannot amend statutes, rules that have been repealed, or rules administered by a different state agency. Your requests for statutory changes, amendments to repealed rules, and amendments to rules that OIC does not have authority to amend are not subject to the Governor's jurisdiction through this appeal. See RCW 34.05.330(3).

On May 31, 2025, you wrote to the Governor's office seeking reconsideration of OIC's denial of your petition. While you refer to your submission as an "appeal," your submission does not specify any amendments that you are asking OIC to make to existing regulations as requested in the petition. Instead—consistent with OIC's explanation that it cannot regulate beyond its legislatively delegated authority—your submission asks the Governor to: 1) "Order an investigation into the OIC's handling of my petitions and the gaps in oversight that have allowed mortgage fraud to persist," 2) "Support legislation to address the gaps in consumer protection laws and regulations," and 3) "Ensure that the OIC is held accountable for its failure to protect consumers and that steps are taken to prevent similar failures in the future."

As noted above, RCW 34.05.330(3) provides that the Governor can review agency denials of a petition to repeal or amend a rule; however, requests for new legislation, investigations, and advocacy efforts are outside of the scope of this rule appeal process. Accordingly, the Governor does not have statutory authority to take action pursuant to RCW 34.05.330 in response to your requests.