Tribal liaison urges updated MOAs after fee changes affect tribal privilege costs

Dr. Marla Conwell, the board's tribal and government liaison in the director's office, told the executive management team that staff have resumed in‑person consultations and engaged with 22 of Washington's 29 federally recognized tribes over the past year. She said the agency has discovered inconsistent or outdated MOA records and is using a combination of a tribal leaders listserv, GovDelivery and phone follow‑ups to reach tribal leaders about rule and fee changes.

Conwell flagged a specific operational need: legislation that took effect July 27, 2025 changed the structure for liquor privilege fees and that change affects how tribal exhibits should list fees. “For those tribes with a flat fees, annual fee of, like, say, $2,000 or $3,000 … the amount of privileges they have would raise their annual rate to over $9,000,” she said, urging updated exhibit A language and clearer communications to explain why fees increased. She said the agency cannot negotiate MOAs or compacts with tribes that are not federally recognized but will maintain outreach if non‑federally recognized tribes contact the liaison.

Conwell described practical next steps: compiling and matching the tribes' most recent documents to LCB files, developing an FAQ for internal and external audiences, and piloting a quarterly tribal work group to improve tribal participation in rule development. She also said licensing and enforcement would benefit from an MOA format that itemizes retail and manufacturing privileges so staff can update fees promptly when tribes change operations or locations.