---
type: "Bill"
title: "Allowing public utility districts to form, own, or use captive insurers."
description: "Allowing public utility districts to form, own, or use captive insurers."
jurisdiction: "us/states/wa"
legislature: "Washington Legislature"
session: "2025-2026"
identifier: "HB 1842"
citation: "Washington HB 1842 (2025-2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Steele"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 22
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-02-05"
last_action: "2025-04-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/22c68fa7-9835-4e24-a2f5-4cfb2fe5250b"
source_url: "https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1842&Year=2025&Initiative=false"
source_hash: "77c375f5931961706712d90dee79aab4ab850c12190ffc8580f5c1673fff8f01"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-wa"]
---

# Washington HB 1842 (2025-2026) — Allowing public utility districts to form, own, or use captive insurers.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Bill** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2025-26/Htm/Bills/House%20Bills/1842.htm)
2. **Passed Legislature** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Biennium/2025-26/Htm/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1842.PL.htm)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#12) — **48–0** (pass) · upper
- 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#9) — **96–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Steele — primary (person)
- Barnard — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-02-05** First reading, referred to Environment & Energy. `reading-1`
- **2025-02-13** Public hearing in the House Committee on Environment & Energy at 8:00 AM.
- **2025-02-20** Executive action taken in the House Committee on Environment & Energy at 8:00 AM.
- **2025-02-20** ENVI - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-02-21** Referred to Rules 2 Review. `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-28** Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading. `reading-2`
- **2025-03-11** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2025-03-11** Third reading, passed; yeas, 96; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 2. `reading-3`
- **2025-03-13** First reading, referred to Environment, Energy & Technology. `reading-1`
- **2025-03-21** Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology at 10:30 AM.
- **2025-03-28** Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology at 10:30 AM.
- **2025-03-28** ENET - Majority; do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-31** Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- **2025-04-02** Placed on second reading consent calendar. `reading-2`
- **2025-04-05** Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading. `reading-3`
- **2025-04-05** Third reading, passed; yeas, 48; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 1. `reading-3`
- **2025-04-09** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2025-04-10** President signed. `passage`
- **2025-04-11** Delivered to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-16** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-16** Chapter 53, 2025 Laws. `became-law`
- **2025-04-16** Effective date 7/27/2025. `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/22c68fa7-9835-4e24-a2f5-4cfb2fe5250b`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Washington legislature records).