OMMA presents FY26 budget request; licensing system planned at about $3.9 million

Brian Walters, OMMA chief financial officer, briefed the council on the agencyfs legislative budget request and historic tax collections tied to the medical marijuana program.

Walters explained OMMAfs fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30 and that the agency was first appropriated funds in FY24 ($37 million). He said FY25 funding is $41.9 million and the FY26 request is $41.7 million. "The licensing system is going to be $3,900,000," Walters said after clarifying that $8.5 million is the agencyfs total annual IT spend and not the full cost of the new licensing system.

Walters provided the FY26 budget breakdown: $27.5 million for personnel, $5 million for operations (rent, vehicle fuel, supplies) and $8.5 million for information technology (agency-wide). He said the licensing system is an investment to improve end-user experience and to address longstanding operational questions from licensees.

Walters also summarized tax collections tied to the program from its inception through FY24: approximately $191 million in state sales tax, $174 million in local sales tax and $278 million from the 7% excise tax, for a combined total of about $644 million. He noted OMMA does not directly receive all those funds; they are distributed across state and local budgets.

The council received the budget overview as informational. Walters said OMMA will present its budget to the Senate and House committees in the coming weeks and that those hearings are live streamed on the legislaturefs websites.