POULSBO, Wash. — The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has selected SMARTGOV, a cloud-based platform from Paladin Data Systems, to support licensing and enforcement for both the alcohol and newly legalized cannabis markets.
SMARTGOV manages permitting and licensing through a hosted service, giving staffers, applicants and citizens visibility into the application process, from submittal through issuance. The SMARTGOV system also streamlines permits and licenses, allowing the WSLCB to process applications more quickly, while also improving communication, oversight, enforcement, and transparency with the public on this closely watched issue.
“SMARTGOV empowers applicants to become active participants in the permitting and licensing process, providing all of our citizens with information transparency,” said Jim Nall, CEO of Paladin.
SMARTGOV replaces the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s legacy COBOL system and previous processes, which could not scale to accommodate the new cannabis industry boom after legalization. The state has processed almost 3,000 licenses since legalization in 2014, but about 4,000 licenses are still in queue, representing more than $1 million in unrealized application fees.
The cloud-based solution will launch in 2017 for the Liquor and Cannabis Board.
More than 100 jurisdictions across the country use SMARTGOV and have processed more than 280,000 licenses.
For more information about Paladin and SMARTGOV, visit www.paladindata.com.