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County joins risk‑pool letter backing Senate Bill 6,239 claims commission
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Summary
Walla Walla County commissioners agreed to add their signatures to a Washington Counties Risk Pool letter urging the House to pass Senate Bill 6,239, which would create a claims commission intended to reduce litigation costs and speed resolution of certain tort claims against government entities.
Commissioner Fulmer read a draft letter on Feb. 17 from the Washington Counties Risk Pool supporting Senate Bill 6,239 and asked the board to add its signatures to the pooled letter. The letter praises the bill's aim to ease backlogs and reduce litigation costs by creating a claims commission within the Office of Administrative Hearings to resolve certain claims against the state and subdivisions, including counties.
Fulmer said the measure "rightly recognizes that our courts are overburdened with growing caseloads and rising litigation costs, draining public resources that could otherwise fund essential services." He and Vice Chair Clayton both expressed support for attaching Walla Walla County's signatures to the risk pool's prepared letter. After discussion about the bill's scope and whether the claims commission should hear a broader set of claims, Commissioner Fulmer moved to approve adding signatures of the two present commissioners; the motion passed 2–0.
Josh Griffith, the county HR risk manager, corrected a budgetary figure during the discussion, noting the county's liability insurance pool increase has been 55%, which county officials said underscores fiscal pressure on counties and motivates support for SB 6,239.
Why it matters: County officials said rising tort‑claim costs and higher risk‑pool premiums threaten local budgets and service delivery. The risk pool's coordinated letter would speak for multiple counties and urge the Legislature to consider SB 6,239 as a measure to reduce legal costs and deliver faster compensation to claimants.
Next steps: Staff will provide commissioners' signatures to the Washington Counties Risk Pool so the pooled letter can be distributed to legislators.
