Office of Radiation Protection Fee Rulemaking

What’s Happening?

The department is considering amending fees in chapter 246-254 WAC, Radiation protection fees, to cover the costs of the programs and account for the General Fund State (GFS) and foundational public health services (FPHS) funding reductions, salary adjustments, and the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) made in the 2025-2027 state budget (ESSB 5167).  

RCW 43.70.250 authorizes the Secretary of Health to establish various fees associated with licensing and regulation of professions, occupations, or businesses. These fees must be set at a level that covers the costs of administering each program or license.

In the 2025-2027 state budget, the department is experiencing COLA increases, Class and Compensation increases, GFS reductions, and fund balance deficits.

The department has completed a financial assessment of the Office of Radiation Protection programs and determined the current fees are not generating sufficient revenue to cover the cost of the programs over the biennium.

Due to these reasons, the programs and fee sections considering fee adjustment are:

  • WAC 246-254-020 Payment of Fees
  • WAC 246-254-053 X-Ray
  • WAC 246-254-070, -080, -090, -100, -120 Radioactive Materials 
  • WAC 246-254-130, -140, -150 Radioactive Waste 

The department may also consider making editorial updates to align with Code Reviser’s Bill Drafting Guide.

Why?

RCW 43.70.250 authorizes the Secretary of Health to establish various fees associated with licensing and regulation of professions, occupations, or businesses. These fees must be set at a level that covers the costs of administering each program or license. The department’s initial assessment of the Office of Radiation Protection programs determined the current fees are not generating sufficient revenue to cover the cost of the programs over the biennium.

Get Involved

Informal Public Comment Period

Deadline: July 20, 2025

The department wants your feedback on draft updates to the proposed fee updates for all programs within the Office of Radiation Protection.

This is your chance to suggest changes, ask questions, or share your ideas. Your feedback will help shape the rule before it’s opened for formal public comment. The informal comment period ends on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. 

Attend the Informational Session 

The department will be holding an informational session to provide high-level information about the fee rulemaking. The fee adjustments will affect over 20 environmental public health programs. The department will be collecting comments and questions per the rulemaking process. The informational session will not include a dedicated Q&A. Partners and interested parties are also welcome to specifically request a meeting with the department.   

Where: Online Zoom Meeting
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Time: 4:00 - 4:45 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting 
Meeting ID: 862 6779 3253 

Provide Feedback on Draft Changes

Written comments are accepted through July 20, 2025, using the following options.

To provide your edits using Track Changes in Word, open one or more of the following WACs: 

And follow these steps: 

  1. Go to the “Review” tab.   
  2. Select “Track Changes” from the drop-down arrow in the “Tracking” section.   
  3. Make your edits and watch them appear as colored text.   
  4. When finished, save the document(s) as [Last Name, First Name] WAC 246-XXX-XXX_Draft   
  5. Email the draft(s) to zehra.siddiqui@doh.wa.gov by the July 20 deadline.   

Tentative Rulemaking Timeline

  • July 2025 – Start rulemaking
  • July 2025 – Informal comment period
  • August and September 2025 – Formal comment period and public hearing
  • October 2025 – Rulemaking complete

Rulemaking Files

Document What's This? Date Filed
CR-101 – Preproposal Statement of Inquiry (PDF) Announces intent of rulemaking. July 7, 2025

Contacts

Zehra Siddiqui, Rules Coordinator

Jeanna Sieving, Fee Manager