By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
A major strain on Washington’s finances shows no signs of abating. Lawsuit payouts from state government misconduct set another record in the most recent fiscal year, which lasted from July 1 of last year to June 30. The total is $537 million, up from $500 million last year and five times what Washington shelled out five years ago.
The Legislature approved $1 billion earlier this year to shore up the state self-insurance fund temporarily, but that won’t solve the long-term budget problem. So a new panel is tasked with proposing systemic changes to stem the flow of claims and resulting multimillion-dollar payouts kneecapping the state.
Also in today’s edition…
• A judge orders the state to pay $118 million in withheld pension interest.
• Kalshi is found to have violated Washington’s gambling laws.
• And, warnings of mass voter registration challenges in the midterms.
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(Photo by Alan Schein Photograph via Getty Images)
By Jake Goldstein-Street
Lawmakers this year proposed requiring arbitration for civil cases against governments, leaving the outcome to a neutral third-party in hopes of speeding up these cases. But the bill was watered down in the legislative process and stalled. A new committee made up of personal injury attorneys, victim advocates and representatives of state and local government, among others, is set to deliver a report Nov. 1 with ideas to stem this liability tide.
“We’ll continue to try to put some curbs” up to limit these costs, said Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, who is her chamber’s lead budget writer. “Until we do, and that actually takes effect, we’re going to continue to have these.”
By Jake Goldstein-Street
More than 26,000 Washington teachers are hoping to see the interest on their pension contributions repaid after decades of the state withholding it. A judge last month ordered the state to pay $118 million to the teachers. But the state is appealing.
“It’s past time for them to return the money that belongs to the teachers and get this case over with,” said Alex Strong, an attorney for the plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the state.
The case stretches back to the mid-1990s when most teachers’ transferred their retirement funds to the state’s Teachers Retirement System, or TRS, Plan 3. For many years, interest didn’t accrue on contributions in the quarter they were deposited. This became clear when the pensions transferred. And at the time of the transition, the Department of Retirement Systems did not credit the workers’ interest on their pension contributions for at least a quarter, according to court filings.
Judge blocks Kalshi in Washington
(Photo by Washington State Standard)
A King County judge on Monday sided with Attorney General Nick Brown, finding the prediction market platform Kalshi is violating state gambling laws that only allow sports wagers at tribal casinos. The New York-based Kalshi offers wagers on a wide variety of events.
For example, users can put money on the daily high temperature in various cities or gas prices. Earlier this year, they could place wagers on whether Washington would adopt the income tax on millionaire earners. Kalshi and Polymarket run the largest of these platforms.
“Kalshi padded their pockets as they promoted illegal betting on sports, elections, the total number of measles cases this year, what will witnesses say during a child trafficking hearing, and even natural disasters,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday.
It’s unclear when Kalshi could have to stop offering wagers in Washington.
The judge’s decision comes after the state’s Gambling Commission issued guidance saying that “offering events-based contracts or participating in these markets is not authorized in Washington State.”
By David Lightman
President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have been laying the groundwork for questioning the election process. The left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice found in a report Tuesday that more than 185,000 challenges to voter eligibility were filed by private citizens in 2024, though “the real number is likely higher” since many election officials either were not contacted or sent incomplete responses to an inquiry. It’s likely to be more of the same this year, researchers say.
Though Washington this year tightened rules for challenging a voter’s registration.
ICYMI
New effort underway to understand WA’s budget shortfalls | by Jerry Cornfield
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