A key lawmaker is proposing changes to Washington's new legal marijuana law, saying the state can squeeze a lot more money out of people who want to participate in the recreational pot marketplace.

Democratic Rep. Christopher Hurst of Enumclaw, who leads the House committee that oversees cannabis, says the state will be leaving "money on the table" unless it increases the fees required to obtain a license to grow, process or sell marijuana.

Hurst introduced a bill Tuesday that would create a new "certificate" to be issued by the Liquor Control Board as a precursor to obtaining those licenses, and it would require the board to set the price of the certificate at no less than fair market value. It's unclear what fair market value would be, but it's safe to say it would be a lot more than the $250 application fee currently required by Initiative 502.

The state facing a "billion-dollar mandate" to improve education spending, Hurst said in a news release, and "it would be foolish to leave money on the table in the face of a daunting number like that."

The bill also would allow marijuana businesses to be located closer to parks, daycares and schools - 500 feet instead of 1,000. Hurst has previously suggested that the 1,000-foot rule is too strict because it could preclude pot shops from opening in urban areas, thus forcing people to travel farther to buy pot, cutting sales and state tax revenue.

Amending a voter-approved initiative in the first two years after passage requires a two-thirds majority in the Legislature.

Alison Holcomb, the author of I-502 and the drug policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, said she had concerns about the bill.

"It might be a bit premature because we haven't had a chance to see how this fledgling marijuana industry might unfold," she said.

Jacking up the cost of participating in the legal market is especially troubling, she said. At public forums on the new law around the state, small-time marijuana growers and would-be sellers have urged the Liquor Control Board to make it possible for them to get involved.

"One of the goals of I-502 is to bring the illicit market under regulatory oversight," Holcomb said. "There are hundreds of people who are growing illicitly, and who want to participate in the regulated market. If we make it prohibitively expensive for them to do so, they're going to continue to grow illicitly."

She also argued that increasing the cost of doing business risked inviting big commercial interests to the market - a point echoed in a letter the ACLU and several local public health and substance abuse prevention organizations sent to the Liquor Control Board on Tuesday.

"Our experience with tobacco and alcohol cautions us that opening the door to large enterprises would run the risk of aggressive marketing and promotion of marijuana use generally, which increases the likelihood of increased marijuana use by all people, especially youth," the letter said.

The groups included the Children's Alliance, the Science and Management of Addictions Foundation, the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition Against Tobacco and the University of Washington's Innovative Programs Research Group.

They said placing conservative limits on marijuana production will help make sure pot isn't diverted to minors or out of state, and strict advertising limits will minimize exposure to those under 21.

The letter acknowledges that the board must provide for enough marijuana to be produced to undercut the black market, but describes the production sweet spot as an amount that will meet existing demand for pot without encouraging additional demand.

The groups also urge the board to require that labels on pot products inform people about how to get drug counseling if they need it, including the number for the "marijuana use public health hotline" created by the initiative, and warn about the dangers of driving while stoned.

I-502, passed by voters last fall, legalized the possession and private use of cannabis by adults 21 and over, and called for the state to set up a system of state-licensed marijuana growers, processors and retail stores. Voters in Colorado passed a similar measure.

New marijuana tax revenues are directed to the state general fund and local budgets, as well as substance-abuse prevention, research, education and health care.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and the U.S. Department of Justice has not said whether it will sue in an effort to block the licensing schemes.

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Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle