Bill would create wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to align DNR and insurance practices

The Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee heard Substitute House Bill 1539, which would form a wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to study how the state can align Department of Natural Resources mitigation standards with national, science‑based standards and improve transparency for insurance consumers.

Representative Christine Reeves, prime sponsor and chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, told senators the bill is intended to be proactive: "The goal of this is really about being proactive in the state of Washington to prevent what we have seen happen in other states," Reeves said, referring to insurance markets in other Western states leaving areas with high wildfire risk.

Committee staff described the proposed work group’s membership to include the Insurance Commissioner, the Commissioner of Public Lands, representatives from the property and casualty insurance industry, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, local emergency management, the Washington Fire Chiefs Association, small forest landowners and rural landowners. Four legislators (two from each of the Senate and House largest caucuses) would be included as ex officio members, nonvoting by default under the bill language. The work group must study aligning mitigation standards with national models, improving community mitigation, sharing data between state agencies and industry, improving consumer transparency of wildfire hazard and risk, and establishing a homeowner grant program. The group must report recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 1 of the year specified in the bill language; staff noted a $15,000 fiscal request from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Stakeholders who testified included the Northwest Insurance Council, which described insurers’ concerns about availability and affordability of property insurance and supported aligning mitigation at parcel and community scales; the Washington Farm Forestry Association, which supported the bill but cautioned the timeline to produce recommendations was tight; Tony Craven, a DNR wildfire advisory committee member, and Eli Loftus of the Okanogan Conservation District, who asked for conservation district representation on the work group; and Mike Busse, a rural fire chief, who urged that insurance modeling firms not overlook local fire district response capabilities.

Senator Manka Dhingra Saldana asked why legislators would be ex officio rather than full members; Representative Reeves said she designed the membership to keep the work group flexible and deliverable but said she was open to further discussion. Senator Short suggested removing the term "ex officio" in amendment language when working on committee changes so legislators could be full voting participants; Reeves said she would consider that change.

No committee vote was recorded in the hearing excerpt. Testimony and staff comment focused on membership, the short timeline for producing a report, the potential addition of real‑estate and investor‑owned utility representation, the $15,000 staff fiscal request and the need to ensure practical, science‑based alignment with national mitigation standards such as those promoted by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety and the Wildfire Prepared Home approach.