Legislation introduced in the Washington House would raise the annual license fees paid by marijuana producers, processors, and retailers, while also creating an automatic mechanism to increase those fees every year based on inflation.

House Bill 2681, filed January 27 by State Representative Timm Ormsby (D) at the request of the Office of Financial Management, amends RCW 69.50.325 to change how marijuana license fees are set and adjusted going forward.

Under current law, marijuana producers, processors, and retailers each pay an application fee of $250 and an annual license renewal fee of $1,381 per licensed location. HB 2681 would keep the $250 application fee in place but increase the annual renewal fee for all three license types to $1,781 per location.

That represents a $400 per year increase for every licensed producer, processor, and retailer in the state.

Because Washington requires a separate license for each physical location, the impact would scale quickly for businesses operating multiple sites. A retailer with five retail outlets — the maximum allowed under state law — would see its annual licensing costs rise by $2,000 under the proposal. The same would apply to multi-site producers and processors.

Beyond the immediate increase, the bill also establishes a new automatic fee adjustment system tied directly to inflation.

Beginning July 1, 2027, and every year after, the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board would be required to increase the annual license fee by the change in the Consumer Price Index for the Seattle area as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means license fees would no longer remain static unless the Legislature acts, but instead would rise each year based on CPI data.

The bill does not change how licenses are issued, how many licenses a person can hold, or the operational rules governing producers, processors, or retailers. It focuses specifically on fee amounts and how they are adjusted over time.

HB 2681 has received its first reading and has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee, signaling that the proposal is being treated primarily as a budget and revenue issue rather than a regulatory overhaul.

If approved, the changes would apply to all licensed marijuana businesses in Washington, increasing their fixed annual operating costs and ensuring those costs rise every year going forward in line with inflation.