WA Governor - Bill Action
(May 18, 2021)

Tuesday May 18, 2021 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM Observed
Washington State Executive Department Seal

The Washington State Office of the Governor (WA Governor) hosts public bill signing ceremonies in response to the passage of legislation by the Washington State Legislature.

Bill Action

  • SB 5092 - "Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium operating appropriations."

Observations

Governor Inslee signed the biennium operating budget which appropriated cannabis excise tax revenue and other general fund tax dollars among more than a dozen agencies.

Here are some observations from the Tuesday May 18th Washington State Office of the Governor (WA Governor) bill action.

My 16 takeaways:

  • Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) - Community Behavioral Health Program: $56.986 million out of a total appropriation of $4.144 billion
    • Section 215 allotted $28,493,000 from the DMA in FY 2022 as well as FY 2023.
    • In (22)(a), $12,878,000 of the money in each year was budgeted for:
      • (i) A memorandum of understanding with the department of children, youth, and families to provide substance abuse treatment programs;
      • (ii) A contract with the Washington state institute for public policy to conduct a cost-benefit evaluation of the implementations of chapter 3, Laws of 2013 (Initiative Measure No. 502);
      • (iii) Designing and administering the Washington state healthy youth survey and the Washington state young adult behavioral health survey;
      • (iv) Maintaining increased services to pregnant and parenting women provided through the parent child assistance program;
      • (v) Grants to the office of the superintendent of public instruction for life skills training to children and youth;
      • (vi) Maintaining increased prevention and treatment service provided by tribes and federally recognized American Indian organization to children and youth;
      • (vii) Maintaining increased residential treatment services for children and youth;
      • (viii) Training and technical assistance for the implementation of evidence-based, research based, and promising programs which prevent or reduce substance use disorder;
      • (ix) Expenditures into the home visiting services account; and
      • (x) Grants to community-based programs that provide prevention services or activities to youth.
      • (b) The authority must allocate the amounts provided in (a) of this subsection amongst the specific activities proportionate to the fiscal year 2021 allocation.
    • (55) allotted $500,000 from the general fund “solely for the authority to contract on a one-time basis with the University of Washington alcohol and drug abuse institute to develop policy solutions in response to the public health challenges of high tetrahydrocannabinol potency cannabis. The institute must use this funding to: Conduct individual interviews with stakeholders and experts representing different perspectives, facilitate joint meetings with stakeholders to identify areas of common ground and consensus, and develop recommendations for state policies related to cannabis potency and mitigating detrimental health impacts. The authority must submit the following reports to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature:
      • (a) An initial report must be submitted by December 31, 2021, and shall summarize progress made to date, preliminary policy recommendations, and next steps; and
      • (b) A final report must be submitted by December 31, 2022, and shall summarize the analysis conducted by the institute, the process and stakeholders involved, an inventory of relevant cannabis policies in other states, and recommendations for policy changes to reduce the negative impacts of high potency cannabis in Washington state.”
      • Legislation aiming to limit cannabis concentrates was heard by lawmakers on February 12th.
    • Section 1214 amended previously approved DMA spending in FY 2021, narrowly reducing allotted money from $28.493 million to $28.490 million.
  • WA HCA - Medical Assistance: $49.693 million out of a total appropriation of $19.342 billion
    • Section 211(27) allotted $24,511,000 in FY 2022 and $25,182,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA for “contracts with community health centers under RCW 69.50.540 in lieu of general fund—state payments to community health centers for services provided to medical assistance clients, and it is the intent of the legislature that this policy will be continued in subsequent fiscal biennia.”
    • Section 1210 amended previously approved DMA spending in FY 2021, raising allocated money from $20.953 million to $26.906 million.
  • Washington State Office of the Treasurer: $40 million out of a total appropriation of $652.015 million
    • Section 801 on revenue for distribution appropriated $40 million from the general fund for “Marijuana Excise Tax distributions” to city and county governments.
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 in Section 986(2)(g)(iv) which established that the “total share of marijuana excise tax revenues distributed to counties and cities in (g)(i) of this subsection (2) may not exceed [$15,000,000] in fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and [$20,000,000] per fiscal year thereafter” was modified to remove the following language: “It is the intent of the legislature that the policy for the maximum distributions in the subsequent fiscal biennia will be no more than [$15,000,000] per fiscal year.”
  • Washington State Department of Health (DOH): $21.836 million out of a total appropriation of $1.226 billion
    • Section 222 allotted $10,538,000 in FY 2022 and $10,562,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • In (28), $374,000 in FY 2022 and $362,000 in FY 2023 from the general fund were allocated “solely for implementation of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1443.”
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 in Section 986(1)(g) added $800,000 in FY 2022 and 2023 “for the administration of the marijuana authorization database.”
    • Section 1220 amended previously approved DMA spending in FY 2021, marginally reducing allotted money from $10.616 million to $10.615 million.
  • Washington State Patrol (WSP): $4.846 million out of a total appropriation of $194.515 million
    • Section 402 allotted $2,423,000 in FY 2022 as well as FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • (2) establishes that the money is “solely for the Washington state patrol to partner with multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces to detect, deter, and dismantle criminal organizations involved in criminal activity including diversion of marijuana from the legalized market and the illicit production and distribution of marijuana and marijuana related products in Washington state.”
    • Section 1402(3) amended previously approved DMA spending in FY 2021 ”for the Washington state patrol's drug enforcement task force” reducing the budgeted amount to $2.423 million from $2.793 million and modifying spending in (b) to remove $370,000 for “a case management system to serve as a repository for all information regarding criminal cases. This system must allow state patrol investigators to enter information and to search to provide patterns, trends, and links which will allow the state patrol to identify connections on criminal investigations including efforts to dismantle marijuana and other drug trafficking organizations by identifying their established networks, and is subject to the conditions, limitations, and review provided in section 701 of this act.”
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 was also modified in Section 986(1)(d)(iii) to change the amount WSP received “for a drug enforcement task force” to $2.423 million from $2.793 million in FY 2022 and 2023.
  • Washington State Department of Commerce: $3.944 million out of a total appropriation of $2.716 billion
    • Section 129 allotted $1,813,000 in FY 2022 and $1,809,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • In Section 129(78), the bill established that $163,000 in FY 2022 and $159,000 in FY 2023 must be spent “for implementation of Engrossed Substitute House Bill No. 1443.”
    • Section 1121(13) amended previously approved DMA spending for the 2020 law establishing WA SECTF by removing $1.1 million of DMA money in FY 2021.
    • The funds were instead carried over into the next biennium. The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 was modified in Section 986(1)(i) “to fund the marijuana social equity technical assistance competitive grant program under RCW 43.330.540in FY 2022 and 2023, an increase from $1.1 million to $1.65 million.
  • Washington State Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction (WA OSPI): $1.333 million out of a total appropriation of $185.957 million
    • Section 501 allotted $520,000 in FY 2022 and $533,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • Subsection (4)(g)(i) allotted $280,000 in FY 2022 as well as FY 2023 from the general fund “solely for dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement programs, including the jobs for America's graduates (JAG) program, dropout prevention programs that provide student mentoring, and the building bridges statewide program. Students in the foster care system or who are homeless shall be given priority by districts offering the jobs for America's graduates program.” The money from DMA had been “provided solely for the building bridges statewide program.”
  • Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA): $1.248 million out of a total appropriation of $182.124 million
    • Section 311 allotted $621,000 in FY 2022 and $627,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 was also modified in Section 986(1)(h) to specify $621,000 for FY 2022 and $627,000 for FY 2023 to WSDA “for compliance-based laboratory analysis of pesticides in marijuana.”
  • University of Washington (UW): $626,000 out of a total appropriation of $906.718 million
    • Section 606 allotted $263,000 in FY 2022 as well as FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • In (42)(a), $100,000 in FY 2022 from the general fund was “provided solely for the center for cannabis research at the university to collaborate with the Washington State University collaboration on cannabis policy, research, and outreach [CCPRO] to create frameworks for future studies. Each framework will include the length of time to complete, research licenses necessary, cost, literature review of national and international research, and a scope of work to be completed. The following frameworks shall be compiled in a report:
      • (i) Measuring and assessing impairment due to marijuana use; and
      • (ii) Correlation between age of use, dosage of use, and appearance of occurrence of cannabis induced psychosis.
      • (b) The report on the frameworks must be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2021.”
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 in Section 986(2)(c)(ii) extended the exception to fiscal years the legislature “must appropriate a minimum of [$1.021 million] to” UW to include FY 2021, 2022, and 2023. It revised the legislative intent that “this policy will be continued” into the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium.
    • Section 1602 amended previously approved DMA spending in FY 2021, reducing allotted money from $272,000 to $266,000.
  • Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE): $546,000 out of a total appropriation of $652.245 million
    • Section 302 allotted $270,000 in FY 2022 and $276,000 in FY 2023 from the DMA.
    • The standing appropriation for spending from the DMA required under RCW 69.50.540 was modified in Section 986(1)(e) to specify $270,000 in FY 2022 and $276,000 in FY 2023 for “implementation of accreditation of marijuana product testing laboratories.”
  • Washington State University (WSU): $276,000 out of a total appropriation of $565.152 million
    • Section 607 allotted $138,000 in FY 2022 as well as FY 2023 from the DMA.
  • Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (WA BCTC): $100,000 out of a total appropriation of $1.912 billion
    • Section 605(42)(a) allotted $100,000 from the general fund in FY 2022 “solely for the center for cannabis research at the university to collaborate with the Washington State University collaboration on cannabis policy, research, and outreach to create frameworks for future studies.” The appropriation established the same parameters for research as the funding for UW.
  • The Evergreen State College (TESC): $75,000 out of a total appropriation of $73.954 million
    • Section 610(4)(g) allotted $75,000 in FY 2022 from the general fund “solely for the institute to review available research literature to investigate and describe any relationship between early substance abuse of cannabis, opioids, or cocaine and mental health disorders in young adults; and any relationship between nutrition and mental health disorders in young adults. The institute shall report its findings to the legislature no later than June 30, 2022.”
  • Finally, SB 5092 described transfers from the DMA into the basic health plan trust account and general fund of amounts not otherwise appropriated.
    • Section 805 authorized two transfers:
      • One to the basic health plan trust account for “the lesser of the amount determined pursuant to RCW 69.50.540 or” $255 million in FY 2022 and $265 million in FY 2023.
      • Another to the general fund for “the lesser of the amount determined pursuant to RCW 69.50.540 or” $195 million in FY 2022 and $200 million in FY 2023.
    • Section 1802 increased FY 2021 DMA transfers:
      • Into the basic health plan trust account from $213 million to $272 million.
      • Into the general fund from $152 million to $212 million.

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