OLYMPIA, WA – Washington state Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, has prefiled a bill in the state Legislature to create a wildfire victims fund similar to a California-style liability fund.

Reeves argues that the fund is necessary to cover payouts from lawsuits resulting from catastrophic utility-sparked fires. A fellow lawmaker on the other side of the aisle warns that the legislation would increase power bills across the state and claim it amounts to a money grab for law firms.

“Essentially, we would be asking the utilities to determine how best to put money aside in an account, to essentially create this prevention account, or this liability account that could be used then to make consumers, rate payers, and others whole when these fires happen,” Reeves said of House Bill 2275 on Wednesday.

According to her, HB 2275 would help stabilize the insurance market by lowering risk exposure, adding that power bills may go up, but at least people will know why they are paying more.

“The way I would message this bill is to say our public utilities are jacking up our rates, no matter what … so you’re going to pay an increased utility cost no matter what,” Reeves explained. “My goal is to make sure that in that increased utility costs, that your rates are actually going to pay for something more than just lining the pockets of their CEO or their shareholders.”

Reeves said that she spent months last year meeting with utility companies and other stakeholders across Washington as she crafted HB 2275.

“If your house burns down because of a utility-started fire, [this bill hopes to ensure] the insurance company doesn’t bail on you, that there is no recourse for you, that somebody is going to make sure that you, as the constituent, are actually going to be protected in this process,” she said.

Reeves noted her own Puget Sound Energy bill recently went up 19%.

“I can’t tell you what those increased utility costs are actually going to fund,” she said. “In this particular proposal, we create a level of transparency that ensures that you, as a rate payer, know when your insurance or when your rate goes up, you know that this rate is going up to pay for wildfire mitigation and protection for you as a consumer.”

Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Environment & Energy Committee, said Washington families are already paying an extra $400 a year on their utility bills since the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act and Climate Commitment Act were implemented in recent years.

“We already have tariffs on energy through the Climate Commitment Act that [have] hyperinflated everything in our state,” she told The Center Square.

Dye said one of her most significant issues with the proposal is the unlimited cap on pain and suffering.

“The amount that falls into this fund is infinite, and it becomes very attractive to people. And it becomes very attractive to law firms and ambulance chasers that can benefit from other people’s tragedies,” she reasoned. “If you follow the money, the people that are benefiting the most are lawyers, not the families and the people that have suffered losses.”

Dye said the legislation is similar to the California Wildfire Fund, which was implemented in 2019. Under this fund, customers of the state’s largest utilities pay more than $10.5 billion into a $21 billion fund collected through a monthly surcharge on power bills.

According to her, civil litigation attorneys, who stand to benefit from the legislation, are already lining up to push it through the Legislature this session, which starts next week.

“The Seattle Times recently documented that a California law firm, which won billions of dollars for its clients in wildfire lawsuits, has now set its sights on Washington state to advocate for this wildfire fund,” Dye said. “They have reportedly enlisted former Gov. Jay Inslee and Mike Webb, a longtime adviser to Gov. [Bob] Ferguson, to help move this legislation over the finish line.”

In a Sept. 17, 2025, opinion piece in The Spokesman Review, Inslee wrote, “A Wildfire Victims Fund is a practical, multi-benefit solution. It ensures economic justice for victims, increases prevention efforts and utility accountability, protects utilities against bankruptcy, and improves access to affordable wildfire insurance – all without pulling from the state general fund.”

California law firm Singleton Schreiber, which has won billions for its clients in wildfire lawsuits, has established a presence in Spokane and, as reported by The Seattle Times, has brought Inslee and Webb on board.

Dye said Inslee joining the law firm that stands to gain from HB 2275 is worth a closer look.

“He put his editorial or whatever in the Spokesman Review, pushing this whole wildfire victims fund,” she said. “And then we find out that he’s been brought on with the law firm that’s set up in Spokane to get this. Come on.”

Washington’s 60-day legislative session starts on Monday, Jan. 12.