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JLARC adopts comments urging transparency and broader sunset review on drug take‑back fee design
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Summary
JLARC adopted committee comments endorsing a recommendation that the Department of Health publicly report oversight costs and urged the upcoming 2026 sunset review to recommend best practices before the legislature considers removing the fee cap.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee unanimously adopted a proposed committee comment April 8 urging the Department of Health (DOH) to make its oversight costs for the drug take‑back program publicly available and recommending that any legislative changes to fee design wait for JLARC's 2026 sunset review.
JLARC staff presented an expedited review of the drug take‑back program fee setting and expenditures that concluded the statutory fee cap, which ties allowable DOH oversight fees to program operator spending, limits DOH's ability to fully recover oversight costs. Staff reported that DOH's oversight spending increased (about $366,000 in FY24 and $479,000 in FY25) while annual fee revenue remained lower ($209,000 in FY24 and $222,000 in FY25). The 2025 legislature appropriated $268,000 to cover the program's costs and adjusted how the fee cap is calculated.
The legislative auditor recommended two primary changes: DOH should publicly report oversight expenditures and activities to improve transparency; and the legislature should consider amending fee design to align fees with oversight costs and remove the fee cap tied to program operator spending. DOH told JLARC it concurs with the recommendations.
Committee comments read into the record endorsed public reporting for accountability and said the full sunset review in 2026 should be used to develop recommendations for best practices and any legislative fee‑design changes. Members raised concerns that removing the fee cap could make participation unattractive to private program operators and noted that the Department of Ecology manages other extended producer responsibility programs and might be a comparative model.
After discussion, JLARC adopted the proposed comment by unanimous oral vote and then approved distribution of the drug take‑back report, including the adopted comments, by voice vote.
JLARC staff said they will complete a more comprehensive sunset review in 2026 that will examine program outcomes, oversight placement (DOH vs. Ecology), reporting practices, and options to enable full cost recovery without undermining program participation.
