The 2025 Washington State legislative session officially closed on Sunday, April 27. This was a budget year, so that was a significant focus for lawmakers. The biggest issue involved a projected $16 billion budget shortfall and how to address it. For now, it seems that the Washington Brewers Guild and its members have successfully lobbied against a proposed 100 percent increase to the excise tax a brewery pays on every gallon of beer it produces.
This kind of advocacy is a good reason for the public to feel good about attending events that support the Washington Brewers Guild, like the Washington Brewers Festival. Also, any Washington breweries that are not members of the Guild should get on board: they’re protecting your interests.
“Lawmakers approved the operating, capital, and transportation budgets, which now await review by Governor Bob Ferguson,” said a wrap-up statement from Daniel Olson, Executive Director of the Washington Brewers Guild. “The Governor has indicated he will take a couple of weeks to decide whether to sign or veto these budgets. It is still unclear which direction he is leaning.”
The Guild also reports that it successfully supported and opposed some other issues. Here is the balance of the Guild’s wrap-up message to its members:
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Budget Overview
To address a $16 billion budget deficit, legislators enacted several tax increases. These include:
- Increases to the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax
- Higher capital gains tax rates
- Increase in the gas tax.
In addition, liquor license fees are set to increase, despite WBG voicing strong opposition. The annual fee for a microbrewery license will rise from $100 to $150. While this increase is not insignificant, it is more manageable than several of the more aggressive tax proposals considered earlier in the session.
Advocacy Wins and Member Engagement
Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the WBG helped advance several priority bills and successfully pushed back against a proposed 100% increase to the beer excise tax. This tax excise proposal generated strong engagement from our members and the broader craft beer community—a great reminder of the importance of our collective voice in Olympia.
WBG Priority Legislation
Supported by WBG:
- HB 1602 (Food Service Flexibility): Passed and signed into law. Allows breweries to contract out food service requirements to a restaurant/food truck.
- HB 1515 (Expanded Outdoor Service): Passed and awaiting the Governor’s signature. Allows for more opportunities for expanded outdoor service during events.
- SB 5492 (Tourism Promotion Workgroup): Passed and expected to be signed soon. This bill creates an advisory group for a tourism self-assessment program involving multiple sectors of the Washington tourism economy, including breweries.
- HB 1719 (Pop-Up Retail): Did not advance. We will continue advocacy efforts over the interim to build support. Allows for off-site and pop-up retail sales, service, and consumption of alcohol for breweries, wineries, and distilleries.
Opposed by WBG:
- HB 2035 (Alcohol License Fee Increases): Passed as part of the final budget. Microbrewery license fees will increase from $100 to $150 upon the Governor’s signature.
- HB 2079 (100% beer excise tax increase): Did not pass and is dead for this year.
- HB 1607 (Bottle Bill): Did not pass.
- SB 5284 (Extended Producer Responsibility): Passed and pending the Governor’s signature. The bill maintains the WBG-secured exemption for breweries with under $5 million in gross revenue excluding on-premise sales.
- SB 5067 (Lower BAC to 0.05): Did not advance this session.
As a reminder, 2025 is the first year of the biennium, meaning bills that did not pass will pick up where they left off in 2026.
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Whether it was coming to Hill Climb, writing to legislators, or speaking at a committee hearing, we saw a tremendous amount of engagement from breweries this year – and it truly made a difference. Thank you for advocating for our brewing community!
