This bill adds a new section to chapter 69.50 RCW and amends existing licensing provisions to reorganize and regulate cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail activity. It creates formal cultivation-method definitions (indoor, light deprivation, mixed-light, outdoor), defines three producer tiers by licensed canopy size (tier one: under 4,000 sq ft; tier two: 4,000–10,000 sq ft; tier three: 10,000–30,000 sq ft), and requires the board to classify a license’s cultivation method based on the majority of licensed canopy. At renewal, tier two and tier three producers must meet specified 12‑month gross sales thresholds (different thresholds by cultivation method) as reported to the Department of Revenue; failure to meet a threshold triggers automatic conversion to the next lower tier with corresponding maximum production space limits. Producers may request reclassification by submitting an amended floor plan, multiple licenses under the same UBI are aggregated for threshold calculations, transferees receive an 18‑month grace period after sale, and social equity producer licenses are exempt from tier conversion for five years unless transferred. The act also amends RCW 69.50.325 language to affirm that production and related activities by a validly licensed producer are not criminal or civil offenses under Washington law and sets application and annual renewal fees at $250 and $1,381 respectively. The bill also establishes a cannabis processor license for wholesale processing, packaging, and labeling of cannabis and cannabis products, and updates retail licensing provisions. Processor and retailer licenses must be issued in the applicant’s name, specify an in‑state location, and require a separate license for each location. Retail licensees and related persons are limited in the aggregate to holding no more than five retail licenses, with specified examples of what counts as a financial interest. The board must adopt forfeiture rules for retail licenses that are not operational, with no forfeiture within nine months of issuance and mandatory forfeiture by 24 months unless extended for reasons beyond the licensee’s control; local government actions that ban retail businesses may prevent forfeiture. The board is given procedural authority to inspect, require fingerprint-based criminal history checks, consider criminal and administrative history in licensing decisions, suspend or cancel licenses (which removes state-law protections), and use administrative hearings. The board must notify local governments and tribal authorities before issuing or renewing licenses; local authorities may file objections within set timeframes, and the board must give substantial weight to objections based on defined patterns of chronic illegal activity or elevated traffic citations associated with a premises. The bill prohibits licensing in Indian country without tribal consent, allows local governments to modify a 1,000-foot buffer from certain sensitive sites down to not less than 100 feet (with narrow exceptions), encourages submission of social equity plans and requires one-time reimbursement of a single renewal fee for confirmed plans, and sets the act’s effective date as December 11, 2026. These are procedural and regulatory changes (new license type, new definitions, new renewal thresholds and automatic tier conversion process, license limits, fee changes, notification and objection procedures, forfeiture and suspension procedures, background-check authority, and various exemptions). Some referenced amendments and rule language are incomplete or missing from the provided text: the full amended text of RCW 69.50.331 is not included, “section 1 of this act” is referenced but not shown, the new section added to chapter 69.50 RCW is not numbered here, and portions of the document appear cut off, so additional details and any other changes that may appear in the remaining bill text are not available in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill would make midand large-scale cannabis growers face new, sales-based checks at renewal that can automatically force them into smaller production tiers (reducing their allowed canopy from up to 30,000 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft, or from up to 10,000 sq ft to under 4,000 sq ft) if their reported gross sales over the prior 12 months fall below specified thresholds that vary by cultivation method; growers are classified by the majority of their licensed canopy, can request reclassification with an amended floor plan, and multiple licenses under the same UBI are treated as one entity for those sales tests. The measure also formalizes processor and retailer licenses with set application and annual fees ($250 and $1,381), limits retail ownership to five licenses per owner/related party (and curbs management arrangements that would create de facto control), tightens timelines for opening a retail shop (forfeiture if not open between nine and 24 months unless excused), protects social equity licensees from tier conversion for five years and offers one-time reimbursement of a renewal fee for non-equity licensees who submit a social equity plan, and gives local governments and tribes clear notice and objection rights; some procedural and cross-referenced details, and full text of certain amended sections, are not shown in the provided extracts so specific rulemaking and enforcement mechanics remain unclear.