WSLCB - Board Caucus
(March 1, 2022)

Here are some observations from the Tuesday March 1st Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus.

My top 3 takeaways:

• Director of Legislative Relations Chris Thompson provided a status update on the legislative session which Board Chair David Postman noted was “coming to an end next week” with the approach of sine die on March 10th.
  • Thompson’s last legislative affairs update was on February 22nd.
  • HB 1859 - Cannabis Testing Labs (audio - <1m, video)
    • The bill was “moving along,” said Thompson, after being approved unanimously by the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) on February 28th with an amendment removing “the specific appropriation from the Dedicated Marijuana Account.”
    • The bill was delivered to the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) to be scheduled for a second and third reading.
  • SB 5983 - Cannabinoid Regulation and Enforcement (audio - <1m, video)
    • Thompson reported that a “new bill” by Senators Karen Keiser and Mark Schoesler had been introduced and assigned to the WA Senate WM, though no hearing had been scheduled.
      • Later in the day, legislative staff announced a placeholder meeting of the WA Senate WM had been scheduled for Saturday March 5th. At publication time, no bills had been granted a public hearing nor an executive session at the meeting, and many bills remained in committee.
      • Senators Steve Conway and Rebecca Saldaña subsequently signed on as co-sponsors, all of whom were members of the Washington State Senate Labor, Commerce, and Tribal Affairs Committee (WA Senate LCTA), the relevant policy committee chaired by Keiser. Schoesler was also a WA Senate WM Assistant Ranking Minority Member while Keiser retained her position as President Pro Tempore, the #2 leadership role in the senate.
    • SB 5983 as introduced was an evolution of HB 2122, with some revisions reducing a temporary license fee surcharge and requiring WSLCB “enforcement operations regarding products containing cannabinoids that may be impairing or are marketed as impairing including, but not limited to, products containing delta-8 THC, and not authorized for sale under this chapter.”
    • After the cutoff demise of HB 1668 (the WSLCB request bill) and SB 5767 (an alternative drafted by members of the Washington CannaBusiness Association, WACA), another pair of companion bills on the topic of cannabinoid regulation had been introduced - but not subsequently moved.
      • HB 2123 by Representatives Drew MacEwen and Larry Springer
      • SB 5981 by Senators Derek Stanford and Ann Rivers
    • Check out the February 22nd board conversation on legislative progress on this issue.
  • HB 1827 - Community Reinvestment (audio - <1m, video)
    • The bill was passed by WA Senate WM on February 28th in “pretty close to a party-line vote,” Thompson commented, and would need to be scheduled for floor action by WA Senate RULE.
  • SB 5796 - Revision of Cannabis Tax Revenue Intents (audio - 1m, video).
    • Thompson told the board that the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) recommended the bill for passage on February 28th, but only after adopting an amendment that stripped “everything out of the bill…and all it does is call for a study by [the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee] JLARC.” The study would look at cannabis revenue and expenditures to date, “whether those are consistent with statute,” he explained, resulting in recommendations to the legislature by “July 1, 2023.”
      • If the bill was passed by the legislature as amended, the 2023 session would have concluded months before recommendations would be submitted, so the earliest changes to that statute would be contemplated would likely be in 2024.
    • Board Member Ollie Garrett had Thompson clarify that the bill had been changed to only study the topic. He indicated several other amendments had been withdrawn, but only the amendment transforming the bill into a research effort was adopted. Thompson remarked he could review the executive session, but the choice may “have been handled in caucus, I don’t know” (audio - 1m, video).
  • SB 5927 - Cannabis Retail Robberies (audio - 1m, video).
    • The bill to address “cannabis retail store security and safety” had been passed by the Washington State House Public Safety Committee (WA House PS) on February 22nd and sent to the Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL). “It hasn’t changed,” observed Thompson, mentioning the effects of greater penalties for those convicted; retailer reporting of robberies and attempts to WSLCB staff; and consultation with representatives for the Washington State Patrol (WSP).
  • HB 1210 - 'marijuana' to 'cannabis' (audio - 1m, video).
    • Thompson described the scope of the bill as changing references to ‘marijuana’ in statute, and instructing WSLCB officials to do the same “in Title 314 WAC.” He added that WSLCB would be budgeted $20,000 “for our agency to do that,” and that WA Senate RULE had pulled the bill, adding it to the calendar for debate and passage by the chamber.
    • Later that afternoon, HB 1210 was scheduled in a senate order of consideration and passed by the chamber. As there were no changes made in the senate, HB 1210 was effectively passed by the legislature making it the first cannabis bill to achieve that milestone in 2022. Next, the bill will be signed by legislative leaders and referred to the Office of the Governor for action.
  • Thompson neglected to mention HB 1105 (arrest protections for all medical cannabis patients) and SB 5004 (excise tax exemption for registered medical cannabis patients) which both sit in their respective opposite house rule committees awaiting scheduling.

• Thompson also went over several appropriations in SB 5693, “Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations,” which could impact WSLCB.
  • Stating that both chambers had passed a supplemental operating budget, Thompson said they were now “resolving those differences” and highlighted several of the appropriations impactful for the agency (audio - <1m, video).
  • WSLCB - Section 140(10) - Cannabis Retail Robberies Task Force
    • Senators added $250,000 for a state task force to study prevention “of robberies at cannabis businesses.” Membership would include representatives of cannabis trade organizations, Director of Enforcement and Education Chandra Brady, and other organizations like the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC). A preliminary report was due “December 1 of this year” and a final report with recommendations to reduce crimes would be required by the “end of June 2023” (audio - 1m, video).
    • The idea was first publicly mentioned in testimony during a hearing on the bill on February 18th, and lawmakers quickly voiced interest.
  • WSLCB - Section 140(11) - Cannabis Retail Study
    • Thompson indicated legislators had allocated “$150,000 for LCB to conduct a study of cannabis retail outlets and the practice of assigning licenses by city” (audio - <1m, video).
    • The proviso aimed “to determine if the practice is sufficient to meet the consumption rate and population of the state as well as the legislature's social equity goals.”
    • The concept was originally proposed by Representative Michelle Caldier as an unsuccessful amendment to HB 2022, failed legislation which would have encoded Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF) recommendations to permit additional retail license allotments for qualifying social equity applicants. Senator June Robinson then offered a very similar idea as an amendment to SB 5693.
      • In 2020, lawmakers asked the WA SECTF to study and make recommendations on “Whether any additional cannabis producer, processor, or retailer licenses should be issued beyond the total number of licenses that have been issued as of June 11, 2020.”
      • WA SECTF staff had previously marshaled data showing Washington state has fewer cannabis retailers per capita than other comparable states regulating the plant for adult use.
  • Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WA CJTC) - Section 218(27) - Limited Authority Law Enforcement Training
    • Thompson added, “Something that Chandra has been working on,” along with staff from the governor’s office and the Washington State Office of Financial Management, was a response to “unintended consequences from legislation last year around law enforcement reforms” (audio - 1m, video).
    • The proviso reads: “$290,000 of the general fund—state appropriation for fiscal year 2023 is provided solely for academy training for limited authority Washington peace officers employed by the Washington state gambling commission, Washington state liquor and cannabis board, Washington state parks and recreation commission, department of natural resources, and the office of the insurance commissioner.
      • (a) Up to 30 officers must be admitted to attend the basic law enforcement academy and up to 30 officers must be admitted to attend basic law enforcement equivalency academy.
      • (b) Allocation of the training slots amongst the agencies must be based on the earliest application date to the commission. Training does not need to commence within six months of employment.
      • (c) The state agencies must reimburse the commission for the actual cost of training.”

• In order to achieve passage during the regular session, bills must be advanced through their “opposite house” before Friday March 4th at 5pm, a week before the end of the 2022 session.
  • Thompson mentioned the legislative cutoff calendar and surmised “all the action will be on the floor this week.” Next week, legislators would resolve “differences between House and Senate” versions of bills (audio - 1m, video).
  • Postman felt there was “a lot of work still to be done” at the capitol and Thompson mused that it would “be a long, short ten days.” Postman reminded Thompson of his offer to help with lawmaker engagement if needed and encouraged him to “get some rest” (audio - 1m, video).
  • Legislation passed by both chambers is first signed by:
    • Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins
    • WA House Chief Clerk Bernard Dean
    • Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, President of the Senate
    • Secretary of the Senate Sarah Bannister
  • After this point, ‘enrolled legislation’ is delivered to Governor Jay Inslee, who can sign or partially veto legislation before it becomes law, unless he chooses to veto it altogether.
    • Bills passed more than five days before adjournment of the session can be acted upon within five days once delivered to Inslee’s office. If no action is taken, the bill automatically becomes law.
    • For bills passed within five days of adjournment of the session, Inslee has 20 days to sign or veto them.