LCB presents plan to implement Governor's Executive Order on customer experience, citing wa.gov migration and plain-language goals

The Liquor and Cannabis Board's communications team described steps to implement the governor's Executive Order 2506 on customer experience, emphasizing a platform migration to wa.gov, accessibility upgrades and plain-language standards.

Brian, who led the presentation, said the order requires agencies to move services off Secure Access Washington and onto wa.gov, and that the agency is securing transition slots with a target that all divisions move by 2028. He identified the tax-and-fee replacement project as a key integration element that the agency's tax team must build to meet wa.gov requirements.

Sam Wheeler, communications consultant, said the agency launched a redesigned site in January 2025 and set usability goals such as making common tasks accessible in two clicks and improving mobile experience. "We launched the site in January 2025," Sam said, and described recent automated and manual accessibility analyses; vendor fixes and IT updates resolved most coding issues but the team is addressing remaining items the Department of Services for the Blind flagged. Sam added the agency is preparing for DOJ/ADA guidance changes effective April 24 and is aligning site work to WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Julie Graham of communications framed the plain-language work as complementary to accessibility: "Plain language really is designed to help people find what they need, understand what they see, and take action," she said. She described an agency policy, a supporting plan and documentation that will show compliance with the executive order, a cross-agency plain-language team, and monthly (now quarterly) trainings for staff. Graham emphasized approaches for translating complex legal text by placing a plain-language summary alongside statutory language.

Board members asked operational questions, including the website vendor and whether the agency is using AI for plain-language editing. Sam identified the vendor (originally Chapter 3, now Kanopy) and said the vendor remains engaged; she said the team has not heavily relied on AI and cautioned that automated tools "sometimes hallucinates or gets things wrong," so use must be careful. The presenters said they will provide more detailed migration planning as they meet with IT and the new CIO.

The communications presentation closed with the board thanking the team for the overview; staff emphasized that the EO work touches licensing, enforcement, education, special occasion permits and beer/wine tax reporting and that the agency submitted its customer experience improvement plan to the governor's office.