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Cities, mayors push for higher local share of cannabis revenues in SB 5547
Summary
City officials and municipal associations testified in favor of Senate Bill 5547, saying incremental increases to the state distribution of cannabis revenues would provide predictable funds for public safety and other local services amid rising costs.
Supporters of Senate Bill 5547 told a legislative committee that modest, phased increases to the local share of cannabis revenues would provide cities with predictable funding to meet rising costs.
The bill would increase the distribution of state cannabis revenues to cities that permit cannabis businesses. Candace Bach, representing the Association of Washington Cities, testified in support, saying many cities face budgets where "expenditures are growing faster than revenues" and that increasing state-shared revenues would help sustain municipal services.
Bach said the bill targets only jurisdictions that allow cannabis businesses, stressing "nothing in this bill changes the fact that cities that ban cannabis businesses, they don't share in that money." Mary Lou Polley, mayor of the City of Issaquah, described painful local budget choices made this year—raising utility taxes, increasing fees and eliminating 18 full-time positions in a city of about 40,000—because long-term revenues are not keeping pace with cost pressures. Jessica Yeager, Spokane Valley city council member, said the phased approach in the bill would give cities a predictable stream for planning and cited Spokane Valley's local example: "Currently, Spokane Valley has 14 active cannabis producers, and this bill would provide our community with nearly 275,000 in additional annual revenue to help ease the burden of our city's law enforcement needs," she said.
Supporters framed the bill as an incremental, budget-conscious step that recognizes statewide fiscal constraints while shifting a larger share of cannabis-related revenues to local governments that shoulder regulation, zoning and public-safety costs associated with legalized cannabis.
Public testimony on SB 5547 concluded at the hearing and the committee moved to the next bill; no formal committee action was recorded during the session transcript.
