|
Greetings,
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) is seeking your feedback on two draft proposals for potential 2027 agency request legislation.
Proposal one has three components:
- Restrictions on the sale and transfer of a licensed business when there is an outstanding tax and fee obligation owed to LCB.
- Tax, fee, and penalty recovery when outstanding balances are owed to the LCB.
- Late payment penalty assessment alignment for Spirits, Beer, Wine, and Cannabis on unpaid taxes and fees.
Problem:
The LCB has observed license transfers being utilized to avoid paying owed taxes and fees to the state, as well as avoiding accountability for non-compliance when increased penalties are assessed for repeat violations. In a November 2024 snapshot, the LCB finance division reported sending over $9.5M to collections for unpaid taxes and fees. Uncollectable accounts total over $5.7M. Additionally, another $11M in cannabis taxes owed are pending submissions to collections. Current tools for tax and fee recovery are limited, so the LCB is seeking additional tools similar to other agencies collecting taxes and fees to accomplish its responsibilities related to tax and fee collection and recovery. Additionally, penalty assessments on late payments and outstanding balances vary by product type. This proposal provides consistency in penalty assessments across all regulated substances.
Proposal two addresses the gap between youth access penalties for tobacco and vapor products. When RCW 70.155.100 was updated to reflect the increased fines for underage sales of cigarettes and tobacco products, RCW 70.345.180 was not updated for vapor products sales. The purpose of this proposal is to align underage sale of cigarette, tobacco, and vapor product penalty structures.
Problem:
RCW 70.155.100 and RCW 70.345.180 both address youth access penalties for sales to minors, but penalty amounts differ between cigarettes and tobacco and vapor products. This creates challenges for the deterrent effect related to repeat violations.
Please submit comments and feedback on the draft Agency Request Legislation proposals by 5:00PM August 27, 2026 to rules@lcb.wa.gov. Please indicate ARL in the subject line and ATTN: Justin Nordhorn.
###
|
