Title 66 — Title 66 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL

In this title, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) "Alcohol" is that substance known as ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirit of wine, which is commonly produced by the fermentation or distillation of grain, starch, molasses, or sugar, or other substances includ…

"Public place" as defined in this title shall not include (a) any of those parks under the control of the state parks and recreation commission, nor, (b) parks and picnic areas adjacent to and held by the same ownership as licensed brewers and domestic wineries for the consumptio…

In this title, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) "Retailer" except as expressly defined by RCW 66.28.285(5) with respect to its use in RCW 66.28.280 through 66.28.315, means the holder of a license or permit issued by the board authorizing sale of liquor to consumers for …

This entire title shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the state, for the protection of the welfare, health, peace, morals, and safety of the people of the state, and all its provisions shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of that purpose.[ 1933 ex.s.…

There shall be a board, known as the "Washington state liquor and cannabis board," consisting of three members, to be appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, who shall each be paid an annual salary to be fixed by the governor in accordance with the provisions o…

(1) The members of the board to be appointed after December 2, 1948, shall be appointed for terms beginning January 15, 1949, and expiring as follows: One member of the board for a term of three years from January 15, 1949; one member of the board for a term of six years from Jan…

The board may employ such number of employees as in its judgment are required from time to time.[ 1961 c 1 s 30 (Initiative Measure No. 207, approved November 8, 1960); 1947 c 113 s 2; 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 65; Rem. Supp. 1947 s 7306-65. Formerly RCW 43.66.030.]

The administration of this title is vested in the *liquor control board, constituted under this title.[ 2012 c 2 s 202 (Initiative Measure No. 1183, approved November 8, 2011); 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 5; RRS s 7306-5.]Notes:*Reviser's note: The "state liquor control board" was renamed …

The attorney general shall be the general counsel of the *liquor control board and he or she shall institute and prosecute all actions and proceedings which may be necessary in the enforcement and carrying out of the provisions of this chapter and this title.He or she shall assig…

The state auditor shall audit the books, records, and affairs of the board annually. The board may provide for additional audits by certified public accountants. All such audits shall be public records of the state. The payment of the audits provided for in this section shall be …

Administrative expenses of the board must be appropriated and paid from the liquor revolving fund. These administrative expenses include, but not be [are not] limited to: The salaries and expenses of the board and its employees, legal services, pilot projects, annual or other aud…

The power of the board to adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW extends to:(1) Prescribing the duties of the employees of the board, and regulating their conduct in the discharge of their duties;(2) Prescribing an official seal and official labels and stamps and determining the man…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the board must increase by 50 percent the license, permit, or endorsement fee for any liquor license, permit, or endorsement in which the amount of such fee is determined by the board in rule.(2) The board must increase th…

The board, subject to the provisions of this title and the rules, must:(1) Determine the nature, form and capacity of all packages to be used for containing liquor kept for sale under this title;(2) Execute or cause to be executed, all contracts, papers, and documents in the name…

The *liquor control board may adopt appropriate rules pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of chapter 321, Laws of 1997.[ 1997 c 321 s 56.]Notes:*Reviser's note: The "state liquor control board" was renamed the "state liquor and cannabis bo…

Every member of the board, and every employee authorized by the board to issue permits under this title may administer any oath and take and receive any affidavit or declaration required under this title or the regulations.[ 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 80; RRS s 7306-80. Formerly RCW 43.66…

The board has power to adopt any and all reasonable rules as to the kind, character, and location of advertising of liquor.[ 2012 c 2 s 108 (Initiative Measure No. 1183, approved November 8, 2011); 2005 c 231 s 3; 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 43; RRS s 7306-43.]Notes:Finding—Application—Rul…

The board must consider revising current rules in order to provide greater flexibility regarding food service menu requirements that businesses holding a license issued by the board under Title 66 RCW must provide in conjunction with alcohol sales. This subsection [section] does …

Except as provided by chapter 42.52 RCW, no member of the board and no employee of the board shall have any interest, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture of liquor or in any liquor sold under this title, or derive any profit or remuneration from the sale of liquor, other t…

No employee shall sell liquor in any other place, nor at any other time, nor otherwise than as authorized by the board under this title and the regulations.[ 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 31; RRS s 7306-31.]

The *liquor control board may provide liquor at no charge, including liquor forfeited under chapter 66.32 RCW, to recognized law enforcement agencies within the state when the law enforcement agency will be using the liquor for bona fide law enforcement training or investigation …

No court of the state of Washington other than the superior court of Thurston county shall have jurisdiction over any action or proceeding against the board or any member thereof for anything done or omitted to be done in or arising out of the performance of his or her or their d…

No municipality or county shall have power to license the sale of, or impose an excise tax upon, liquor as defined in this title, or to license the sale or distribution thereof in any manner; and any power now conferred by law on any municipality or county to license premises whi…

For the purpose of obtaining information concerning any matter relating to the administration or enforcement of this title, the board, or any person appointed by it in writing for the purpose, may inspect the books and records of(1) any manufacturer;(2) any license holder;(3) any…

For the purpose of obtaining information concerning any matter relating to the administration or enforcement of this title, the board, or any person appointed by it in writing for the purpose, may inspect the books, documents and records of any person lending money to or in any m…

(1) The liquor and cannabis board may issue subpoenas in connection with any investigation, hearing, or proceeding for the production of books, records, and documents held under this chapter or chapters 70.155, 70.158, 70.345, 82.24, 82.26, and 82.25 RCW, and books and records of…

The action, order, or decision of the board as to any denial of an application for the reissuance of a permit or license or as to any revocation, suspension, or modification of any permit or license must be an adjudicative proceeding and subject to the applicable provisions of ch…

There shall be a fund, known as the "liquor revolving fund," which shall consist of all license fees, permit fees, penalties, forfeitures, and all other moneys, income, or revenue received by the board. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. All moneys received by th…

Except as provided in RCW 66.24.290(1), moneys in the liquor revolving fund shall be distributed by the board at least once every three months in accordance with RCW 66.08.190, 66.08.200 and 66.08.210. However, the board shall reserve from distribution such amount not exceeding f…

(1) Prior to making distributions described in subsection (2) of this section, amounts must be retained to support allotments under RCW 43.88.110 from any legislative appropriation for municipal research and services. The legislative appropriation for such services must be in the…

For the purposes of this chapter:(1) "Border area" means any incorporated city or town, or unincorporated area, located within seven miles of the Washington-Canadian border or any unincorporated area that is a point of land surrounded on three sides by salt water and adjacent to …

(1) Distribution of funds to border areas under RCW 66.08.190 and 66.24.290 (1)(c) and (4) is as follows:(a) Sixty-five percent of the funds must be distributed to border areas ratably based on border area traffic totals;(b) Twenty-five percent of the funds must be distributed to…

The department of commerce shall develop guidelines to determine the figures used under the three distribution factors defined in RCW 66.08.195. At the request of any border community, the department may review these guidelines once every three years.[ 2023 c 470 s 2110; 1995 c 1…

With respect to the distribution of funds to the counties, the computations for distribution must be made by the state agency responsible for collecting the same as follows:(1) The share coming to each eligible county must be determined by a division among the eligible counties a…

(1) With respect to the distribution of funds to the incorporated cities and towns under RCW 66.24.290(1)(c), the computations for distribution must be made by the state agency responsible for collecting the same as provided in subsection (2) of this section.(2) The share coming …

Funds that are distributed to counties, cities, or towns pursuant to this chapter may be transferred by the recipient county, city, or town to another unit of government pursuant to a government service agreement as provided in RCW 36.115.040 and 36.115.050.[ 1994 c 266 s 10.]

Nothing in this title, other than RCW 66.28.140, applies to wine or beer manufactured in any home for private consumption, and not for sale.[ 2009 c 360 s 1; 1981 c 255 s 1; 1955 c 39 s 1; 1933 ex.s. c 62 s 32; RRS s 7306-32.]

(1) Nothing in this title shall prevent any person licensed to manufacture liquor from keeping liquor in his or her warehouse or place of business.(2) Nothing in this title shall prevent the transshipment of liquor in interstate and foreign commerce; but no person shall import li…

Nothing in this title shall apply to or prevent the sale, purchase or consumption(1) of any pharmaceutical preparation containing liquor which is prepared by a druggist according to a formula of the pharmacopoeia of the United States, or the dispensatory of the United States; or(…

(1) Where a medicinal preparation contains liquor as one of the necessary ingredients thereof, and also contains sufficient medication to prevent its use as an alcoholic beverage, nothing in this title shall apply to or prevent its composition or sale by a druggist when compounde…

A person twenty-one years of age or over may bring into the state from without the United States, free of tax and markup, for his or her personal or household use such alcoholic beverages as have been declared and permitted to enter the United States duty free under federal law.S…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a person twenty-one years of age or over may, free of tax, for personal or household use, bring into the state of Washington from another state no more than once per calendar month up to two liters of spirits or wine or two hundr…

The legislature finds that the production of alcohol for use as a fuel or fuel supplement is of great importance to the state. Alcohol, when used as a fuel source, is less polluting to the atmosphere than conventional fuels and its use reduces the state's dependence on limited oi…

Nothing in this title shall apply to or prevent the sale, importation, purchase, production, or blending of alcohol used solely for fuel to be used in motor vehicles, farm implements, and machines or implements of husbandry or in combination with gasoline or other petroleum produ…

(1) Nothing in this title shall prevent the use of beer, wine, and/or spirituous liquor, for cooking purposes only, in conjunction with a culinary or restaurant course offered by a college, university, community college, area vocational technical institute, or private vocational …

(1) Any person engaged in medical or dental pursuits, any person in charge of an institution regularly conducted as a hospital or sanatorium for the care of persons in ill health, or a home devoted exclusively to the care of aged persons, may obtain alcohol in a nonbeverage form …

Nothing in this title shall apply to or prevent a hospital, as defined in *RCW 70.39.020, or a nursing home as defined in RCW 18.51.010, from offering or supplying without charge beer or wine by the individual glass to any patient, member of a patient's family, or patient visitor…

Nothing in this title shall apply to or prevent the manufacture or sale of confections or food products containing alcohol or liquor if: (1) The confection or food product does not contain more than one percent of alcohol by weight; and (2) the confection or food product has a la…

Nothing in this title shall be construed as limiting the right of any manufacturer of confections or food products from obtaining liquor from any source whatsoever if: (1) It is acquired pursuant to a permit issued under RCW 66.20.010(5); and (2) the applicable taxes imposed by t…

The Washington wine commission created under RCW 15.88.030 may purchase or receive donations of wine from wineries and may use such wine for promotional purposes. Wine furnished to the commission under this section which is used within the state is subject to the taxes imposed un…