WSLCB - Executive Management Team
(February 10, 2021) - Legislative Update - HB 1463

In describing HB 1463, legislation that would require dilution of cannabis concentrates and limit access, WSLCB’s lobbyist said the agency wouldn’t support the bill as written but “we want to see if there’s anything we can do to help” going forward.

• Director of Legislative Relations Chris Thompson expressed some skepticism about HB 1463, but said the bill “reflects some positive efforts and worthwhile goals” the agency hoped to work with Representative Lauren Davis on (audio - 4m).
  • Thompson described HB 1463 as a “revised effort” on a prior bill “that was heard and didn’t go” regarding “the concentration of THC in marijuana concentrates.” He explained the new bill’s limits “and those concentrates cannot be sold to people under 25 years of age, with an exception for medical patients” registered with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).
  • With regards to the policy committee public hearing on the bill in the Washington State House Commerce and Gaming Committee (WA House COG) on February 12th, Thompson suggested staff had “some thoughts and some, kind of concerns, I guess you could say, about this” and so were preparing a “statement that could be submitted to the committee as part of their record” without testifying. The goal for the agency legislatively was to “make sure that some of these issues are, are documented...and become part of the record,” he said.
  • Thompson anticipated that WSLCB staff “might have some interest in working with the sponsor...after cutoff, or over the interim, or something to both provide some background and information to her as well as, you know, engage in some dialogue.” He said some agency staff thought parts of HB 1463 made “sense” and “reflects some positive efforts and worthwhile goals” that could be “effectively and practically” pursued. However, “our take is this bill doesn’t quite get there,” Thompson remarked, and “we want to see if there’s anything we can do to help [Davis] formulate what we think might be a more effective way of addressing the risk of, you know, highly concentrated products and, and younger aged users.”
  • Noting the prior bill’s lack of movement, Thompson said that “I think there’s a lot of interest, but also a lot of controversy.” He highlighted opposition from Paula Sardinas, member of the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs (CAAA) and Co-Chair of the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis), “and perhaps some folks in the African American community.”

• HB 1463 was not moved by its house of origin policy committee prior to the initial cutoff deadline on Monday February 15th but remains active through the 2022 session.
  • Given the unusual $0 fiscal note attributed to the bill by WSLCB staff, it’s unlikely the bill would be designated “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB) by legislative leadership to enable it to continue to move this session. However, we’ve come to expect unexpected bill activity regardless of cutoff guidelines.
  • One way or another, HB 1463 remains active into the 2022 legislative session when it will be reintroduced, having completed an initial step in the legislative process and revealed the perspectives of legislators, advocates, and opponents.

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