WA Legislature - Update
(March 14, 2025)

As bills remaining through cutoff were shuffled between chambers, legislators in renewed committee meetings would hear from the newest WSLCB board member and outspoken agriculture researchers.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Friday March 14th, the 61st day of the 2025 regular session.

My top 2 takeaways:

• Two cannabis-related bills were introduced on Thursday including new omnibus legislation in the House, and three bills passed on Wednesday in the Senate would be conveyed to the opposite chamber on Friday.
  • On Thursday, the “agricultural worker” unionization legislationpassed by the House on Tuesday March 11th was introduced in the Senate.
    • HB 1141 - Cannabis Production Unions
      • See the bill text, bill report and fiscal note for more details.
      • The legislation was referred to the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) as planned.
  • Also on Thursday, new omnibus cannabis legislation was introduced in the House by Representative Melanie Morgan.
    • HB 2037 - Out of State Ownership + Social Equity Tax Preference + Cooperatives + Financial Interest
      • See the bill text and Cannabis Observer’s initial analysis for more details.
      • The legislation was referred to the Washington State House Finance Committee (WA House FIN) as planned.
  • The draft introduction report for Friday March 14th in the House included the three senate bills passed on Wednesday.
    • SB 5206 - Cannabis Retailer Advertising
      • See the bill text, bill report, and fiscal note for more details.
      • The legislation was planned for referral to the Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB).
    • SB 5403 - Cannabis Retail Financial Interest
      • See the bill text, bill report, and fiscal note for more details.
      • The legislation was planned for referral to the WA House CPB.
    • SB 5758 - Social Equity Buffer Zones
      • See the bill text, bill report, and fiscal note for more details.
      • The legislation was planned for referral to the WA House CPB.
  • The draft introduction report for Friday March 14th in the Senate did not include any cannabis-related legislation.

• On Friday, senators would interview Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Member Pete Holmes regarding his gubernatorial appointment before representatives learned more about the research and positions of the Washington Policy Center (WPC).
  • 8:30am: WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
    • Public Hearing
      • SGA 9203 - Confirmation - Pete Holmes
  • 10:30am: WA House AGNR - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
    • Work Session
      • “Introduction to the Washington Policy Center’s Agriculture and Natural Resources-Related Research.”
        • Washington State House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (WA House AGNR) members planned to host a rescheduled work session with representatives from the Washington Policy Center (WPC).
        • In January, WPC staff who would be presenting on Friday penned an article titled, “Two bills offer gateway drug to farmworker unionization in WA” regarding:
          • HB 1141, the cannabis “agricultural worker” unionization legislation passed by the House on Tuesday, and
          • HB 1067 regarding the transfer of cannabis production oversight from the WSLCB to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) sponsored by WA House AGNR Chair Kristine Reeves and Vice Chair Melanie Morgan.
        • The article stated:
          • “If cannabis were governed as an agricultural product, workers in the cultivation, processing, packaging, and sale of cannabis would be considered agricultural or farm workers. A change in worker status would pave the way for the unionization of “cannabis farmworkers” proposed in HB 1141. This legislative proposal seems to be a test of how acceptable farmworker unions in general would be to our state.”
        • The WPC presentation deck published on Tuesday afternoon made no mention of cannabis nor farmworker unions.