WA Senate - Session
(January 17, 2024)

Here are some observations from the Wednesday January 17th Washington State Senate (WA Senate) Session.

My top 3 takeaways:

• Senators had been modifying and advancing SB 5376, "Allowing the sale of cannabis waste," since the bill was introduced in 2023.
  • The legislation was heard by the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) in January 2023, the members of which recommended a minor word change by the next day. Following a February 2023 fiscal hearing by the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM), the group recommended substitute bill language in executive session the following week.
  • There was no further action on SB 5376, which was placed in the Senate X-File, for “bills that will go no further in the process.” When the 2024 session began on January 8th, there was a successful motion to remove the measure from the X-File. The Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) included the bill in a package pull a day later on January 9th, making SB 5376 eligible to be scheduled for consideration by the full senate. The 2024 Senate bill report laid out the effects of the proposal:
    • Permits a licensed cannabis producer and licensed cannabis processor to sell specified solid waste generated during cannabis production or processing under certain conditions.
    • Provides that unsold cannabis waste must be rendered unusable before leaving the premises of a licensee.
  • A revised fiscal note from Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) staff projected enforcement costs related to additional training, verification, complaints, and investigations handled by Enforcement Officers and an Administrative Regulations Analyst.
    • Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 - $245,224
    • FY 2025-27 - $393,458
    • FY 2027-29 - $368,888

• Sponsoring Senator Derek Stanford moved the substitute bill language and offered final remarks on why the State should allow alternative uses for cannabis waste material (audio - 1m, video).
  • Stanford conveyed that “currently, when cannabis production creates waste product, that product has to be rendered unusable and destroyed. Typically it's mixed with kitty litter and ground up, and then sent to a landfill.” This process made “sense when that waste might contain THC [tetrahydrocannabinol], however often it doesn't,” he said, so SB 5376 permitted waste without THC to “be disposed of in other ways,” including “for fiber or compost it.”
  • Stanford argued this allowance was “more environmentally friendly and economical” than the existing law.

• With unanimous support from senators present, the bill was sent to the opposite chamber where it was scheduled for a policy committee hearing (audio - 2m, video)
  • 48 senators voted ‘yea,’ with Senator Emily Randall excused from the vote.
  • After being received by the Washington State House of Representatives, SB 5376 was referred to the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) and scheduled for a Wednesday February 14th public hearing, as well as an executive session the next day.
  • WA House RSG member Representative Kristine Reeves expressed concern around the health and safety of those handling cannabis waste during the hearing and executive session of a bill on cannabis home growing earlier in 2024.