A last-minute amendment was adopted by the Senate that changed SB 5155’s impact on cities.
AWC would like to thank everyone who contacted their legislators asking them to support the removal of public agencies from the bill. As a result of your efforts, the Senate adopted an amendment, proposed by Sen. Shelley Short (R–Addy), that removes all
public agencies from being subject to prejudgment interest.
This amendment is a huge win for cities and has the potential to save you millions of dollars in litigation costs. Thank you to all of our members who answered our call to action as well as our many public agency partners who worked on this bill.
There is more work to come. SB 5155 now heads to the House for consideration. Additionally, the House has their own version of this bill, HB 1754,
which would make cities subject to prejudgment interest.
As you meet with your elected officials over the coming weeks, we ask that you continue to push for cities not to be included in SB 5155 and HB 1754. Remind them that:
- 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 trial attorneys to file additional claims.
- Public funds used in settlements and legal penalties are funds that are taken away from other valuable services that Washington residents rely on in their day-to-day lives.