This bill adds a new section to chapter 82.14 RCW that authorizes counties, and in limited circumstances cities, to impose by ordinance a local excise tax of up to 2 percent on the selling price of retail sales of cannabis concentrates, useable cannabis, and cannabis-infused products. Any such tax must be approved in advance by a majority vote of the county’s or city’s voters at a special or general election, may run for up to seven consecutive years, and may be reimposed for additional seven-year periods only with further voter approval. A city may only impose the tax if its county has not imposed the county tax before July 1, 2027, and a county and a city in the same county may not both impose the tax at the same time. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board must administer and collect the tax under contract with the imposing jurisdiction and may deduct an administrative fee not to exceed 1 percent of collections as provided by contract. The state treasurer distributes collections as available on a monthly basis: when a county imposes the tax, 15 percent of collections go to that county and the remainder is allocated between the county and cities within the county where licensed cannabis retailers are physically located in proportion to revenue generated by those retailers; when a city imposes the tax, 15 percent goes to the county and the remainder to the city. The tax is expressly in addition to any other taxes authorized by law, and definitions from RCW 69.50.535 apply. This is a new statutory authorization and procedural framework for a local excise tax on certain retail cannabis sales, not a criminal change or penalty change. The extracted text does not define “selling price” here, does not include ballot language or election procedures, does not specify allowable uses or restrictions on spending the revenue, does not state exact start dates for collections beyond the requirement to contract with the Liquor and Cannabis Board before an ordinance’s effective date, and does not detail interactions with other specific state or local taxes. If other sections of the bill exist, they were not provided in these extracts.

If enacted, counties could ask voters to approve a new local excise tax of up to 2% on retail cannabis sales, and cities could only do the same in a county that has not adopted the tax by July 1, 2027. Any approved tax would run for up to seven years (renewable only with further voter approval), would be collected by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board under contract (the board may keep up to 1% for administration), and the state treasurer would distribute receipts monthly; practically this means new, time-limited local revenue streams but also upfront contracting and ongoing collection work for jurisdictions and retailers who must collect the tax. Counties and cities stand to gain new funds but must win voter approval and follow the bill’s sharing rules: if a county imposes the tax the treasurer sends 15% to the county and the remainder is split between that county and the cities where licensed retailers are located based on where sales occur; if a city imposes it, 15% goes to the county and the rest stays with the city. Voters, licensed cannabis retailers, the Liquor and Cannabis Board, and the state treasurer are directly affected; however, key implementation details are unclear from this text—terms like “selling price,” ballot procedures, timing for starting collections, and any restrictions on how revenues may be spent are not specified.