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OMMA presents FY‑26 budget request, highlights licensing system and tax collections
Summary
OMMA Chief Financial Officer presented the agency's FY‑26 budget request and detailed staffing, operations and IT spending; the agency also summarized state and local tax collections tied to the medical marijuana industry through FY‑24.
Brian Walters, OMMA chief financial officer, presented the agency’s legislative budget request and a summary of tax collections tied to the medical marijuana industry.
The request and structure: Walters said OMMA runs on a July–June fiscal year. He stated that OMMA’s first appropriated year (noted as the agency’s first appropriated year) was about $37,000,000 for FY‑24, and that the current year appropriation was roughly $41,900,000. Walters said the agency’s FY‑26 request is $41,200,000.
Budget breakdown: Walters described the requested $41.2 million as divided into three major categories:
- Personnel: about $27,500,000. - Operations: about $5,000,000 (rent, vehicles, inspector supplies and similar operating costs). - Information technology: about $8,500,000 (agency‑wide technology spending for the year).
Licensing system and IT clarification: Walters clarified that the $8.5 million figure is the agency’s total annual IT spend, not the cost of the new licensing system. He said the proposed licensing system itself is budgeted at $3,900,000 and that the system is intended to improve end‑user service for licensees and agency staff.
Tax collections: Walters summarized combined state and local collections related to medical marijuana from FY‑19 through FY‑24. He said state sales tax collections were about $191,000,000, local sales taxes about $174,000,000 and the 7% medical marijuana excise tax about $278,000,000, for a combined fiscal impact of approximately $644,000,000. Walters added that OMMA does not receive all of those funds; they flow to multiple state and local recipients.
Context and next steps: Director Berry and Walters said OMMA will present the budget request in upcoming House and Senate hearings; dates were not specified in the meeting. Walters said a recently funded QA lab and the new licensing system are primary investments highlighted across recent fiscal cycles. Council members asked clarifying questions; Walters walked through fiscal‑year timing and the agency’s categorization of spending.
