v.
Wa State Liquor Control Bd
Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two
August 8, 2017
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION II WASHINGTON RESTAURANT No. 48807-8-II ASSOCIATION, a Washington non-profit Organization; NORTHWEST GROCERY ASSOCIATION, a non-profit organization; and COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION, a Washington corporation,
Appellants/Cross Respondents, v. WASHINGTON STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD, a state agency; CHRIS MARR, SHARON FOSTER, and RUTHANN KUROSE, in their official capacities as members of the Washington State Liquor PUBLISHED OPINION Control Board,
Respondents, ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON SPIRITS AND WINE DISTRIBUTORS, Intervenor-Respondent/Cross Appellant.
WORSWICK, J. — The parties in this case ask us to decide whether the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (Board) appropriately promulgated certain rules implementing Initiative Measure No. 1183, now codified in Title 66 RCW.[1] The Initiative provided for the No. 48807-8-II
[*2]FACTS Following the repeal of Prohibition, Washington adopted the Washington State Liquor Act, Title 66 RCW. Ass’n of Wash. Spirits & Wine Distribs. v. Wash. State Liquor Control Bd., 182 Wn.2d 342, 346, 340 P.3d 849 (2015). Under the Liquor Act, Washington regulated the sale and distribution of spirits through state-owned liquor stores and distribution centers. See Wash. Ass’n for Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention v. State, 174 Wn.2d 642, 647, 278 P.3d 632 (2012). In November 2011, Washington voters passed Initiative No. 1183, which privatized the distribution, sale, and promotion of spirits in the state and created new licenses for private distributors to sell and distribute spirits. The Initiative imposed license fees on private distributors and distillers who sell and distribute spirits. Ass’n of Wash. Spirits & Wine Distribs., 182 Wn.2d at 347. The Initiative also imposed a limit on the retail-to-retail sale of wine and spirits and allowed for retailers to sell liquor either at its licensed premises or at its warehouse facilities. The Initiative is now codified in Title 66 RCW. Title 66 provides four different licenses that allow for the distribution of spirits and prescribes the licensing fees for each license. 182 Wn.2d at 347. One such license is a spirits distributor license. RCW 66.24.055. Licensed spirits distributors may purchase spirits from in- state and out-of-state distillers, manufacturers, and suppliers and may directly resell the spirits to other retailers. RCW 66.24.055(1)(a). Another, more specific, license that provides for the distribution of spirits is a distiller’s license. RCW 66.24.140, .640. Under RCW 66.24.140, a distiller’s license permits an in-state No. 48807-8-II
[*3]distiller to blend, rectify, and bottle distilled spirits. Distillers must pay an annual license fee of $2,000. RCW 66.24.140(1). Additionally, a licensed in-state distiller may distribute its own spirits directly to retailers. RCW 66.24.140(2)(a)-(b), .640. Out-of-state distillers may distribute their own spirits by obtaining a spirits certificate of approval. RCW 66.24.140, .640. A spirits certificate of approval allows out-of-state distillers and importers to distribute their spirits directly to in-state retailers. Ass’n of Wash. Spirits & Wine Distribs., 182 Wn.2d at 348. Licensed distillers and spirits certificate of approval holders distributing their own spirits under RCW 66.24.640 are required to “comply with the applicable laws and rules relating to distributors.” RCW 66.24.640. Title 66 also governs the manner in which liquor is sold in the state. RCW 66.24.630(1) and RCW 66.24.360(2) limit the quantity of spirits and wine that a licensed retailer can sell to another retailer. Under RCW 66.24.630(1) and RCW 66.24.360(2), “no single sale [of spirits or wine] may exceed twenty-four liters.” Title 66 provides the Board with the power to prescribe fees associated with licenses and to regulate the sale of liquor. RCW 66.08.030(4), (6). Accordingly, the Board promulgated a number of rules to implement Title 66. These rules include WAC 314-23-030(3)(b) and WAC 314-28-070(3)5 (the “10 percent license fee rules”). The 10 percent license fee rules impose a 10 No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II
[*4][*5][*6]“Administrative agencies have only those powers expressly granted by statute or are necessarily implied from the legislature’s statutory delegation of authority.” Lenander v. Dep’t of Ret. Sys., 186 Wn.2d 393, 404, 377 P.3d 199 (2016). When an agency rule is reasonably consistent with the statutes the rule implements, an agency acts within its statutory rule-making authority, and the rule is presumed to be valid. Wash. State Hosp. Ass’n v. Dep’t of Health, 183 Wn.2d 590, 595, 353 P.3d 1285 (2015). However, an agency cannot promulgate rules that amend or change legislative enactments. 183 Wn.2d at 595. Rules that are inconsistent with the statutes they implement are beyond the agency’s authority and are therefore invalid. 183 Wn.2d at 595. “When the people approve an initiative measure, they exercise the same power of sovereignty as the Legislature does when it enacts a statute.” McGowan v. State, 148 Wn.2d 278, 288, 60 P.3d 67 (2002). Accordingly, we interpret an initiative according to the rules of statutory interpretation. 148 Wn.2d at 288. Our primary goal is to determine the collective intent of the people who enacted the initiative measure. 148 Wn.2d at 288. We discern “intent from the plain language enacted by the [people], considering the text of the provision in question, the context of the statute in which the provision is found, related provisions, amendments to the provision, and the statutory scheme as a whole.” Ass’n of Wash. Spirits & Wine Distribs., 182 Wn.2d at 350. We do not add words to a statute. Birgen v. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., 186 Wn. App. 851, 858, 347 P.3d 503, review denied, 184 Wn.2d 1012 (2015). If a statute is unambiguous, we apply the statute’s plain language as an expression of legislative intent and do not consider other sources of such intent. 186 Wn. App. at 857-58.
[*7]No. 48807-8-II
However, if a statute is subject to multiple reasonable interpretations, the statute is ambiguous. 186 Wn. App. at 858. Title 66 creates licenses permitting the distribution of spirits and establishes the fees associated with each license. Ass’n of Wash. Spirits & Wine Distribs., 182 Wn.2d at 347. Additionally, the Board has the power to make regulations that extend to “[p]rescribing the fees payable in respect of permits and licenses issued under [Title 66] for which no fees are prescribed in [Title 66], and prescribing the fees for anything done or permitted to be done under the regulations.” RCW 66.08.030(4). As described above, under RCW 66.24.140,9 Title 66 provides for a distiller’s license. Under RCW 66.24.140(1), licensed in-state distillers are permitted to blend, rectify, and bottle spirits and generally must pay an annual licensing fee of $2,000. Under RCW 66.24.640,10 a No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II No. 48807-8-II
[*8][*9][*10][*11][*12][*13][*14][*15][*16][*17][*18]