This bill amends RCW 43.70.250 and reenacts and amends RCW 69.30.010 to establish statutory fee caps and to provide definitions used in chapter 69.30 RCW. It sets maximum annual shellfish operation license fees by category: harvester $416; shellstock shipper (0–49 acres) $469; wholesale shellstock shipper $469; shellstock shipper (>50 acres) $752; shucker-packer <2,000 sq ft $856; shucker-packer 2,000–5,000 sq ft $1,036; shucker-packer >5,000 sq ft $1,912. It also sets biotoxin testing fee caps by operation type, plant size, and number of harvest sites (for example, harvester ≤2 sites $484; harvester ≥3 sites $733; shucker-packer >5,000 sq ft $3,304), and caps export certificates at $75. The change is primarily a procedural and fiscal legal change: it creates statutory limits on license and testing fees (fee caps) and reenacts statutory definitions for terms such as harvester, shellstock, shucker-packer, harvest site, department, and export certificate. Section 2 makes the fee caps retroactive to fees and surcharges established under chapter 69.30 RCW on or after February 1, 2026. The act declares an emergency and takes effect immediately. The secretary of health’s rulemaking authority to fix fees under the Administrative Procedure Act (chapter 34.05 RCW) is implicated by the amendment to RCW 43.70.250, and the bill lists affected groups including the Department of Health, licensed shellfish harvesters, shippers, and shucker-packers. The provided text shows the fee caps and the reenacted definitions but does not show other possible changes elsewhere in chapter 69.30 RCW or the full procedures for how existing fees and surcharges must be adjusted to comply. The references to date-limited fee limits for peer support specialists and substance use disorder professionals in RCW 43.70.250 and any appropriation conditions are noted in the amended section but the appropriation actions themselves are not included here.

If enacted, the bill limits how much the Washington State Department of Health can charge shellfish businesses by setting fixed maximums for annual operation licenses, biotoxin testing, and export certificates (fees range from several hundred dollars up to about $3,300 for the largest shucker-packer testing schedule; export certificates capped at $75). That will make costs for harvesters, shellstock shippers (by acreage), wholesale shippers, and shucker-packers (by plant size and number of harvest sites) more predictable and may lower or stop recent fee increases; because the caps apply retroactively to fees and surcharges charged on or after February 1, 2026, the department may need to adjust current invoices or issue refunds if past charges exceeded the new caps. The Department of Health and the Secretary of Health must adopt fee rules under the Administrative Procedure Act to match these caps, so the department could face reduced fee revenue and may need to find other funding or reallocate resources to cover programs previously supported by higher fees. The bill takes effect immediately, creating a short timeline for rule changes and any administrative adjustments; how the department will implement retroactive adjustments and reconcile these caps with other related statutes or appropriations is not fully specified in the provided text.