Senate Bill 5996 (S-3670.1), 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session, adds a new section to chapter 69.30 RCW that limits the department’s ability to change certain commercial shellfish-related fees. The bill prohibits the department from increasing specified fees above the amounts that are in effect on June 30, 2025, and it bars the department from imposing any additional licensing or use fees on commercial shellfishers, shellstock shippers, and shucker-packer plants through June 30, 2027. The provision also references entities receiving export certificates and programs or services related to biotoxin testing and paralytic shellfish poisoning monitoring. Legally, this is a modification of existing law by adding a new statutory section that creates a procedural and financial restriction on fee-setting authority; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties in the text provided. The text available does not identify which “department” is meant, does not state the actual fee amounts as of June 30, 2025, and includes no enforcement mechanisms, penalty provisions, or appropriation details. It is also unclear whether this new section is the entire bill or part of broader legislation.

If enacted, the bill would freeze commercial shellfish-related fees at whatever amounts existed on June 30, 2025, and bar the creation of any new licensing or use fees for commercial shellfishers, shellstock shippers, shucker-packer plants, and entities receiving export certificates through June 30, 2027. Those businesses would likely see steady or lower short-term fee costs and avoid new fee obligations during that period. The department named in the bill (not specified in the extract) would be prevented from increasing fee revenue from these sources, which could constrain funding available for programs tied to those fees, such as biotoxin testing and paralytic shellfish poisoning monitoring, or force reliance on other funding sources. Important details are missing from the extract—specifically which department is affected, the exact fee amounts as of June 30, 2025, and any enforcement or appropriation measures—so the precise fiscal impact and how funding gaps would be addressed are unclear.