Liquor and cannabis board

AN ACT Relating to reorganizing the liquor and cannabis board 1
into separate liquor and cannabis boards and providing shared agency 2
administration; amending RCW 66.08.012 and 66.08.016; adding new 3
sections to chapter 66.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 69.50 4
RCW; creating new sections; and repealing RCW 66.08.014.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
Sec. 1. RCW 66.08.012 and 2015 c 70 s 3 are each amended to read 7
as follows: 8
((There shall be a board, known as the "Washington state liquor 9
and cannabis board," consisting of three members, to be appointed by 10
the governor, with the consent of the senate, who shall each be paid 11
an annual salary to be fixed by the governor in accordance with the 12
provisions of RCW 43.03.040. The governor may, in his or her 13
discretion, appoint one of the members as chair of the board, and a 14
majority of the members shall constitute a quorum of the board. )) (1) 15
The Washington state liquor and cannabis board is a state agency 16
composed of two separate boards:17
(a) The Washington state liquor board; and18
(b) The Washington state cannabis board.19
(2) The liquor board consists of five members appointed as 20
follows:21
S-4003.1
SENATE BILL 6290
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators King and Conway
Read first time 01/22/26. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
p. 1 SB 6290
(a) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house of 1
representatives;2
(b) Two members appointed by the president of the senate;3
(c) One member appointed by the governor.4
(3) The cannabis board consists of five members appointed in the 5
same manner as provided in subsection (2) of this section.6
(4) The governor may designate one member of each board as chair 7
of that board.8
(5) A majority of the members of each board constitutes a quorum 9
for the transaction of business by that board.10
(6) Each member shall be paid an annual salary to be fixed by the 11
governor in accordance with RCW 43.03.040.12
Sec. 2. RCW 66.08.016 and 1961 c 1 s 30 are each amended to read 13
as follows: 14
((The board may employ such number of employees as in its 15
judgment are required from time to time. )) The director appointed 16
under section 4 of this act, subject to the direction of the liquor 17
board and cannabis board within their respective jurisdictions, may 18
employ such number of employees as are required from time to time.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 66.08 20
RCW to read as follows: 21
(1) Members of the liquor board and cannabis board appointed 22
under RCW 66.08.012 shall be appointed for terms of six years and 23
shall hold office until their successors are appointed and qualified. 24
Of the initial members, one member must be appointed for a two-year 25
term, two members must be appointed for a four-year term, and two 26
members must be appointed for six-year terms. 27
(2) In case of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled by the 28
appointing authority that made the appointment for the unexpired 29
portion of the term in which the vacancy occurs. 30
(3) A vacancy in the membership of either board does not impair 31
the right of the remaining members of that board to act, except as 32
otherwise provided by law. 33
(4) The principal office of the Washington state liquor and 34
cannabis board shall be at the state capitol, and the board may 35
establish such other offices as it deems necessary.36
(5) Any member of the liquor board or cannabis board may be 37
removed for inefficiency, malfeasance, or misfeasance in office, upon 38
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specific written charges filed by the appointing authority that 1
appointed the member, who shall transmit such written charges to the 2
member accused and to the chief justice of the supreme court. The 3
chief justice shall thereupon designate a tribunal composed of three 4
judges of the superior court to hear and adjudicate the charges. The 5
tribunal shall fix the time of the hearing, which shall be public, 6
and the procedure for the hearing, and the decision of the tribunal 7
shall be final and not subject to review by the supreme court. 8
Removal of any member of the liquor board or cannabis board by the 9
tribunal shall disqualify such member for reappointment.10
(6) Each member of the liquor board and cannabis board shall 11
devote his or her entire time to the duties of office and may not 12
hold any other public office. 13
(7) Before entering upon the duties of office, each member shall 14
enter into a surety bond executed by a surety company authorized to 15
do business in this state, payable to the state of Washington, to be 16
approved by the governor in the penal sum of $50,000 conditioned upon 17
the faithful performance of duties, and shall take and subscribe to 18
the oath of office prescribed for elective state officers. The oath 19
and bond shall be filed with the secretary of state. The premium for 20
the bond shall be paid by the Washington state liquor and cannabis 21
board. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 66.08 23
RCW to read as follows: 24
(1) The liquor board and cannabis board, acting jointly, shall 25
employ a director to administer the Washington state liquor and 26
cannabis board. 27
(2) The director serves at the pleasure of the liquor board and 28
cannabis board acting jointly, and may be removed only upon the 29
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of each board.30
(3) Each board has authority to set policy and priorities within 31
its jurisdiction. The director is responsible for the executive and 32
administrative functions of the agency and shall implement the lawful 33
policies and orders of each board within that board's jurisdiction.34
(4) The director is the appointing authority for agency employees 35
and may assign employees to support one or both boards. The director 36
shall ensure each board receives staff support necessary to carry out 37
its duties, including support for meetings, public records, and rule 38
development and implementation within the board's jurisdiction.39
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(5) The director shall appoint two deputy directors:1
(a) A deputy director for liquor, tobacco, and vapor programs, 2
responsible for staff support and program administration for matters 3
within the jurisdiction of the liquor board, including administration 4
and enforcement of this title and chapter 70.155 RCW; and5
(b) A deputy director for cannabis programs, responsible for 6
staff support and program administration for matters within the 7
jurisdiction of the cannabis board, including administration and 8
enforcement of chapters 69.50 and 69.51A RCW to the extent they 9
relate to cannabis. 10
(6) The director shall provide shared administrative services and 11
centralized support functions for both boards, including budget, 12
human resources, information technology, finance, contracting, and 13
public records. 14
(7) The director shall develop and submit a single agency budget 15
request. The director shall maintain internal accounting that 16
identifies revenues and expenditures attributable to each board's 17
programs and to shared services, and shall allocate staff and other 18
resources, including shared services costs, among the boards and 19
shared services after consultation with each board.20
(8) Beginning with the first enacted operating budget for the 21
Washington state liquor and cannabis board after the effective date 22
of this section, the director must establish a baseline internal 23
allocation of the agency's operating expenditures and spending 24
authority between: (a) Programs and activities within the 25
jurisdiction of the liquor board; and (b) programs and activities 26
within the jurisdiction of the cannabis board. The baseline 27
allocation must be calculated using the most recent enacted operating 28
budget and allotment data as the baseline, and must reflect, as a 29
percentage of total agency operating expenditures, the proportion of 30
operating expenditures that were budgeted and allotted for programs, 31
activities, and program support corresponding to each board's 32
jurisdiction. The director must use the baseline allocation for 33
internal budgeting, allotment, and cost allocation purposes, 34
including allocation of shared services costs, unless otherwise 35
provided in the enacted operating budget. Nothing in this subsection 36
creates a separate appropriation or modifies amounts appropriated by 37
the legislature. 38
(9) When direction from the boards conflicts on a matter that 39
materially affects both boards, the director shall request joint 40
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direction from the boards. Until joint direction is provided, the 1
director may take actions necessary to maintain continuity of 2
operations and to protect public health and safety. Nothing in this 3
subsection limits a board's authority over matters within its 4
jurisdiction. 5
(10) For contested cases and other adjudicative proceedings, the 6
director shall ensure appropriate separation between staff engaged in 7
investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation and staff 8
providing decision support to a board. Nothing in this subsection 9
affects procedures under chapter 34.05 RCW. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 69.50 11
RCW to read as follows: 12
(1) The Washington state cannabis board is the successor to the 13
Washington state liquor and cannabis board for all powers, duties, 14
and functions that relate to cannabis under this chapter and chapter 15
69.51A RCW. 16
(2) The Washington state liquor board is the successor to the 17
Washington state liquor and cannabis board for all other powers, 18
duties, and functions of the Washington state liquor and cannabis 19
board, including powers, duties, and functions relating to tobacco 20
products and vapor products under chapter 70.155 RCW, unless 21
specifically assigned to the cannabis board by law.22
(3) Existing rules, orders, contracts, and licenses issued by the 23
Washington state liquor and cannabis board remain in effect and are 24
not affected by the division of authority under this section.25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) All rules adopted by the Washington 26
state liquor and cannabis board in existence on the effective date of 27
this section remain in effect until amended, repealed, or superseded 28
by the successor board with jurisdiction over the subject matter.29
(2) All proceedings pending before the Washington state liquor 30
and cannabis board on the effective date of this section, including 31
adjudicative proceedings under chapter 34.05 RCW, must be continued 32
and completed by the successor board with jurisdiction over the 33
subject matter, without prejudice to the parties. 34
(3) All documents and records of the Washington state liquor and 35
cannabis board relating primarily to cannabis must be available to 36
the cannabis board, and all other documents and records, including 37
those relating to tobacco products and vapor products, must be 38
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available to the liquor board. The director shall administer the 1
custody and access to records and shall provide for efficient shared 2
access. 3
(4) All employees of the Washington state liquor and cannabis 4
board remain employees of the Washington state liquor and cannabis 5
board, and their employment is not interrupted by this act.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 7
section, all references in the Revised Code of Washington to the 8
Washington state liquor and cannabis board, the Washington state 9
liquor control board, or a substantially similar term, must be 10
construed as referring to the Washington state liquor board or the 11
Washington state cannabis board, as applicable.12
(2) In its next technical corrections bill, the office of the 13
code reviser must prepare legislation that: (a) Changes statutory 14
references consistent with subsection (3) of this section; and (b) 15
makes other conforming changes. 16
(3) To assist the office of the code reviser in drafting 17
legislation under subsection (2) of this section, statutory 18
references must be construed as follows unless the context clearly 19
requires otherwise: 20
(a) References that occur in, or primarily relate to, subject 21
matter governed by, Title 66 RCW or chapter 70.155 RCW must be 22
construed as referring to the Washington state liquor board;23
(b) References that occur in, or primarily relate to, subject 24
matter governed by chapter 69.50 or 69.51A RCW, to the extent the 25
provisions relate to cannabis, must be construed as referring to the 26
Washington state cannabis board; and 27
(c) If a provision relates to both liquor and cannabis, or if the 28
appropriate board is not clear from context, the reference must be 29
construed as referring to both boards jointly. In making 30
determinations under this section, the office of the code reviser may 31
consult with the director appointed under section 4 of this act, the 32
house of representatives' office of program research staff, and 33
senate committee services staff. 34
(4) The office of the code reviser shall note, wherever the 35
predecessor board or its duties are used or referred to in statute, 36
that the agency's governance has changed as a result of this act.37
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. RCW 66.08.014 (Terms of members— Vacancies1
— Principal office — Removal— Devotion of time to duties — Bond— Oath) 2
and 2012 c 117 s 266, 1986 c 105 s 1, 1949 c 5 s 9, 1947 c 113 s 1, 3
1945 c 208 s 2, & 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 64 are each repealed.4
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