WA Legislature - Update
(April 27, 2025)

WA Legislature - Update (April 27, 2025) - Takeaways

Legislators prepared to pass the final operating budget, which contained a few surprises including provisos incorporating a social equity bill, as they wrapped up the 2025 regular session on Sunday.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Sunday April 27th, the 105th and final day of the 2025 regular session.

My top 4 takeaways:

  • On Saturday, conference committee members from the majority party supported the publication of a substantially revised version of the operating budgets on the penultimate day of the 2025 regular session.
    • SB 5167 - Operating Budget and Supplemental Operating Budget
      • On Thursday, legislative staff announced that the conference committee on the operating budgets would formally release their report containing revised bill language on Saturday morning, setting in motion final approval by both chambers of billions of dollars in State revenue appropriations.
      • During the conference committee report signing ceremony, staff provided a high level briefing before party leaders from both chambers offered remarks - with the exception of Representative Travis Couture who was not present.  Senator Chris Gildon expressed Republican frustrations, stating that he had not seen the 1366 page revision prior to the signing ceremony and implying he had been excluded from the conference proceedings.
      • There were several notable cannabis-related changes in the conference version of the operating budget.
        • The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) would receive decreased funding for two cannabis-related programs in section 311.
          • The Cannabis Lab Analysis Standards Program (CLASP), responsible for developing quality standards and accrediting private cannabis testing laboratories, received half as much funding as requested in subsection 7 on page 336.
            • While a diminished amount had been specified in the original House version of the budget ($849K across FY26 and FY27), it was subsequently revised upwards to match the Senate allotment ($1.7M) and remained consistent into conference.  The suggested House amount was incorporated in the conference report.
            • At publication time, it remained unclear why the cut was made and what implications that might portend for program staffing and capabilities.
          • The State Chemical and Hop Laboratory in Yakima received a smaller amount of funding to support “compliance-based laboratory analysis of pesticides in cannabis” in subsection 11.
            • The reported amount ($635K across FY26 and FY27) matched the final House version of the legislation but was half the appropriation suggested by the Senate ($1.27M).
            • At publication time, it remained unclear what implications that might portend for program staffing and capabilities.  However, the primary client for the lab services remained the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) for analysis of cannabis samples gathered by its Enforcement and Education division.  The organizations maintained interagency contracts to specify funding transfers for operational support.
        • The Washington State Department of Commerce (WA Commerce) would receive $60M from the Community Reinvestment Account“solely for the department to distribute grants for economic development, civil and criminal legal assistance, community-based violence intervention and prevention services, and reentry services programs. In making distributions under this subsection, the department must award funds among these program areas in similar proportions to awards made during the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium for these purposes” in section 129 subsection 23.
        • The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) arranged to increase grant funding for the 501(c)3 non-profit Washington Poison Center (WAPC) in section 226 subsection 17.
          • In addition to funding derived from an $11M standing appropriation in RCW 69.50.540 (1)(b)(ii), the Department provided additional funding for the private entity through budget appropriations.  In FY23-24, DOH provided an additional $1.95M, arranging to increase that to $2.07M in FY25-26.
        • The Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (WA PERC) was allotted $218K across FY25-26 to support implementation of HB 1141 (Cannabis Production Unions), matching their projected expenses in the final fiscal note in section 150 subsection 2.
          • Funding to implement HB 1141 had been overlooked in the final House version of the operating budget.
        • The worst of the projected cuts for the WSLCB budget did not come to pass and the agency received requested funding for one cannabis-related bill in section 147.
          • The agency systems modernization project (SMP), underway since 2016, continued to require millions of dollars of annual investment to migrate agency operations from antiquated computing platforms.
            • The Governor’s proposed operating budget language had already lowered agency expectations for SMP support to slightly more than $9M across FY26 and FY27.  But the House hadn’t felt that was necessary, and both chambers had removed that line item by the time the legislation reached conference.
            • However, a separate ask for $8.2M “provided solely for the tax and fee systems replacement” which the final House version of SB 5167 did not include was reinstated in conference.
          • The agency would receive $117K to implement SB 5206 (Cannabis Retailer Advertising), matching the projection in the final fiscal note.
        • Perhaps most dramatically, a budget proviso was introduced in conference encoding a version of HB 1551 regarding evaluation of the social equity program which created obligations for the WSLCB and WA Commerce.
  • A version of the language from HB 1551, the social equity program evaluation bill which had not been advanced by the Senate, was included as an operating budget proviso.
    • HB 1551 - Social Equity Program Evaluation
      • The legislation was not advanced prior to the Opposite House Cutoff on Wednesday April 16th.
      • The budget is said to be composed of fiscal-oriented “provisos” which encode specific appropriations to specific entities for specific purposes.  Every session, some legislators who had been unsuccessful passing legislation in conformance with the usual rules of order sought to incorporate bill language into the omnibus operating budget as provisos.
        • As the budget is legislation like any other and is incorporated into the revised code of Washington, provisos are an alternate means of changing statute without the necessity for public process.
        • In contrast to regular legislation, it’s Cannabis Observer’s understanding that provisos do not alter previously existing statutes, but rather are additive, operating in addition to established law for matters of interpretation.
          • However, the supplementary operating budget alters language in prior operating budgets.
      • In the case of HB 1551, which made it all the way to the Senate floor calendar before time ran out, the conference committee members were convinced to incorporate some of the largely identical language from the engrossed substitute as passed by the House.
        • The Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) heard testimony on and recommended the engrossed substitute.  Subsequently, several striking and floor amendments were published.  However, none of the provisions from those proposals were incorporated into the budget.
      • In the WSLCB proviso, agency staff were tasked with providing an evaluation of the social equity program within existing resources in section 147 subsection 7.
        • See a side-by-side comparison of the relevant part of the HB 1551 engrossed substitute bill text as adapted to the SB 5167 budget proviso.
        • Looking closely, there are some further refinements of language for precision but it’s largely identical.
        • Adroitly, the language was revised to clarify agency staff had to consider public comments received about the program more broadly rather than comments received while they perform the requested evaluation - a necessity since a requirement that the board undertake purposeful public engagement on the subject had been excised.  Additionally, over the course of the regular session, the board had removed the opportunity for members of the public to offer general public comments during their public meetings.
          • At publication time, the board had not received a single general public comment in written form since the implementation of their “board efficiencies.”
      • In the WA Commerce proviso, the scope of the technical assistance grant program was addressed in section 132 subsection 13.
        • See a side-by-side comparison of the relevant part of the HB 1551 engrossed substitute bill text as adapted to the SB 5167 budget proviso.
        • While the activities eligible for technical assistance weren't changed, the implications of the proviso were a little trickier to parse out because of an adjustment to who was eligible to receive grants.
          • Existing statute in RCW 43.330.540 would remain in place, and as we are not lawyers here at Cannabis Observer, we’ll refrain from offering an interpretation about eligibility.
      • A final word of commentary independent of the purpose and value of the source legislation: as there are no budget appropriations in these budget provisos, the appropriateness of their residence in the operating budget is questionable.
  • There were no introductions of cannabis-related legislation on Saturday, and none staged for Sunday.
    • There were no introductions staged in the House or the Senate for Sunday April 27th.
  • On Sunday, legislators would consider the operating budget during floor sessions before adjourning sine die at the end of the day.
    • 10am: WA House - Session
    • 11am: WA Senate - Session
      • [ TVW - Morning, TVW - Afternoon, TVW - Evening ]
      • After unusually meeting later than their colleagues across the rotunda, senators moved their planned start time forward two hours.
      • On Saturday, legislative staff announced senators would take up a floor resolution  honoring the late Senator Bill Ramos during their proceedings on Sunday.
      • At publication time, there were 14 bills on the Senate floor calendar including one cannabis-related item.
        • HB 1551 - Social Equity Program Evaluation
          • See the bill text, bill report, and fiscal note for more details.
          • Presumed ineligible for consideration after the Opposite House Cutoff on Wednesday, the legislation remained calendared at publication time along with nine other House bills which were not acted upon.
    • COB: WA Legislature - Sine Die
      • Sunday April 27th would occasion sine die, the end of the regular session, described as the “Last day allowed for regular session under state constitution.”
      • Governor Bob Ferguson could demand that legislators subsequently continue working by calling for an initial up-to-30-day special session, or legislators could muster a super-majority and do so themselves.
        • The Guide to Lawmaking indicated, “Special sessions can be called by the Governor or the Legislature and often are held to deal with fiscal matters. There is no limit to how many special sessions can be called but each special session is 30 days. The legislature may adjourn before the 30th day is [sic] their business is complete. Almost all special sessions are called by the Governor and occur when they issue a proclamation. For the Legislature to call a special session, a two-thirds vote is required in both chambers.”