A bill set for Senate floor action would substantially increase costs for local governments – contact your senators now asking that they oppose this legislation.
SB 5155, sponsored by Senator Patty Kuderer (D–Clyde Hill), would allow interest on judgments for tortious conduct
to begin to accrue from the date on which a person suffers an injury or loss. This means interest would start to accrue before a claim was filed and before a city was made aware of the injury or loss. Current law provides that interest begins to accrue
on the date a judgment is entered by a court.
AWC encourages you to contact your senators and tell them:
- Support a floor amendment in the Senate to remove public agencies from the bill.
- Pre-judgement interest does nothing to bring actual relief to injured parties.
- Courts are already overburdened; sometimes it can take years for a case to come to trial. This bill will penalize defendants for timelines outside of their control.
- This bill creates additional financial incentives for parties to delay filing a cause of action and for trail attorneys to file additional claims.
The House is also considering similar legislation proposed in HB 1754, sponsored by Reps. David Hackney (D–Seattle) and Steve Kirby (D–Tacoma).
AWC opposes both HB 1754 and SB 5155. We urge you to reach out to your legislators and express your opposition to these bills.