Washington’s Department of Enterprise Services is asking for $1.275 billion in additional state funding as escalating lawsuit settlements, jury awards and legal costs overwhelm the account that pays claims against state government.
The request appears in the state’s 2027–29 agency budget database and would cover a projected shortfall through the next two-year budget cycle. The agency manages Washington’s Self-Insurance Liability Account, which pays eligible tort claims and litigation expenses arising from state operations.
Washington State Standard reported that an actuarial analysis estimates $1.3 billion in payouts from mid-2027 through mid-2029. Base funding is about $360 million, leaving a roughly $940 million gap; the remainder of the request would address an expected deficit in the current cycle and add risk-management staff.
Claims and costs are rising together
Washington paid more than $537 million to resolve claims in the fiscal year that ended June 30, an all-time high and more than five times the amount spent five years earlier. The state also spent about $90 million on Attorney General’s Office lawyers, outside counsel, insurance and related litigation costs.
Nearly 5,500 claims arrived during the year, up from 4,233 the year before. The largest share targets the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which operates child-welfare and juvenile-detention systems. Cases include allegations of childhood abuse, negligence, wrongful termination and deaths in custody. The state’s outstanding estimated liability reached $4.4 billion at the end of June.
Those figures represent projected legal obligations, not a finding that every pending allegation is valid. Individual claims still must be settled, dismissed or resolved in court, and final payments may differ from actuarial estimates.
Lawmakers face a policy choice
The Legislature already added more than $1 billion to the liability account in 2026. A proposal to require arbitration for many civil claims against governments, Senate Bill 6239, did not advance after plaintiffs’ lawyers and victim advocates warned it could restrict access to courts.
Instead, lawmakers created a Tort Claim Costs Study Committee to examine state and local-government liability. The panel is scheduled to meet September 23 and must deliver recommendations by November 1. Options discussed include faster early resolution of claims, changes to attorney solicitation and broader revisions to civil-liability rules.
The debate is not solely financial. Many large payments arise from abuse or misconduct that occurred years earlier, and survivor advocates argue that budget pressure should not be solved by limiting compensation or access to counsel. Government representatives, meanwhile, say rapidly rising claims can crowd out funding for other public services.
Gov. Bob Ferguson is due to release a proposed two-year budget in December. Legislators returning in January will then decide how much of the request to fund and whether any legal-policy changes should accompany the appropriation. Until then, the $1.275 billion figure is an agency request, not enacted spending.
