Policy office to contract for small-business impact study; evaluation planning for 2027 discussed

Justin, the agency policy lead, told the executive management team that rule development on product placement and related topics will require a Small Business Economic Impact Statement (SBEIS). He said staff are preparing a sole-source contract for a vendor to conduct the SBEIS and estimated the initial vendor work could take about two months once engaged.

Justin said the agency has received feedback from the Public Health Fund and others requesting broader evaluation work at the end of the program timeline (noted as around 2027). He said LCB did not receive earmarked funding for a formal evaluation and that leadership will need to decide whether to prioritize baseline-data collection now or pursue an evaluation later; staff signaled it is likely the legislature will ask for evaluation results in the future. Justin also summarized outreach and engagement done at recent conferences and tribal meetings and noted follow-up work on management-contract implementation and trade-practice issues.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the SBEIS contracting approach; Justin said the vendor will propose how it plans to conduct the study rather than LCB prescribing the vendor’s methodology. No formal board action was taken on contracting at this meeting.