Inside Olympia – Attorney General’s Outlook for 2027 Legislative Session

Utility rates are ”the area where we can have the best direct influence, not only through our advocacy and these hearings, but in the legislative side as well.”

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown says utility affordability and rising state liability costs are emerging issues for the 2027 Legislature.

Brown called the state’s liability trajectory “unsustainable” and said lawmakers should revisit tort reform, although his office is not advocating a specific solution. He also revealed that the AGO is considering utility-rate legislation.

Other high-profile issues are less likely to produce agency-request bills. Brown doesn’t currently anticipate one on artificial intelligence and says his previous social-media bill is no longer necessary following a multistate Meta settlement. He favors comprehensive data privacy legislation but sees little current momentum.

Brown also defended the Paramount-Warner Bros. settlement, calling it imperfect but preferable to continuing an expensive antitrust case.