This bill amends RCW 51.32.060, creates a new section, and takes effect July 1, 2026. For workers whose date of injury or disease manifestation is on or after July 1, 2026 and who are determined by the supervisor of industrial insurance to be permanently totally disabled, the bill requires monthly payments that (1) provide the worker 100% of the employer's payment or contribution for health care benefits during the period of disability unless the employer continues the same level of payments or contributions as at the time of injury, and (2) pay the worker a pension equal to a percentage of wages (excluding the employer's health care payment/contribution) based on marital status and number of children: unmarried/no children 60%; unmarried/1 child or married/no children 65%; unmarried/2 or married/1 67%; unmarried/3 or married/2 69%; unmarried/4 or married/3 71%; unmarried/5 or married/4 73%; unmarried/6+ or married/5+ 75%. For claims with a date of injury or disease manifestation before July 1, 2026, the bill replaces the wage-percentage schedule with a different set of percentages tied to marital status and number of children (examples: married/no child 65%, married/1 child 67%, married/2 children 69%, married/3 71%, married/4 73%, married/5+ 75%; unmarried/no child 60%, unmarried/1 child 62%, unmarried/2 64%, unmarried/3 66%, unmarried/4 68%, unmarried/5+ 70%). The bill also requires the department to pay an attendant monthly when permanent total disability requires hiring an attendant, except while the worker is receiving care under chapter 51.36 RCW and RCW 51.04.105; allows a worker who becomes permanently totally disabled by a subsequent accident to receive the pension they would be entitled to even if a prior injury was resolved by a lump sum; and makes monthly payments subject to caps and minimums tied to the state average monthly wage and to modification under RCW 51.32.067. The supervisor of industrial insurance is the decisionmaker referenced; the bill refers to "the department" as responsible for attendant payments but does not name the department in the provided text. The extracted material contains a formatting or transcription error in one subsection (a heading showing "AFTERPERCENTAGE" with dates and percentages) and does not show the new section number or any cross-referenced RCW provisions in full, so those specifics and any additional provisions outside the provided text are unclear.

If enacted, permanently totally disabled workers with injuries or disease manifestations on or after July 1, 2026 will generally get their employer’s full health-care payment each month (unless the employer keeps paying that same level) plus a wage-related pension that rises with marital status and number of children up to 75% of wages; older claims follow a different, lower schedule. The department must also pay attendants monthly while attendant care is required (except during care covered under certain other statutes), a later disabling accident can revive pension entitlement even after a prior lump-sum payment, and all payments remain subject to caps and minimums tied to the state average monthly wage and to later modification under existing law. The people and budgets most affected are permanently disabled workers (who are likely to receive more consistent health and wage-related income), employers (who may need to continue health payments or face higher compensation costs), the department and the supervisor of industrial insurance (who will have more claims decisions to make and attendant payments to administer), and attendants (who will receive monthly payments). Important implementation details—such as the specific payment caps and some unclear historical percentage entries, and the exact department named to make attendant payments—are not included in the extracted text, so the precise funding and administrative impacts cannot be fully determined here.