WSLCB - Board Caucus
(April 12, 2022) - Summary

After a rulemaking update, the board mentioned a presentation on social equity to Seattle City Councilors and anticipated reports on cannabis retail safety at the next day’s board meeting.

Here are some observations from the Tuesday April 12th Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus.

My top 3 takeaways:

• Policy and Rules Manager Kathy Hoffman shared a rulemaking update with the board, reaffirming progress on social equity remained a key concern for the board.
  • Electronic Service (audio - 1m, video, Rulemaking Project)
    • Hoffman reported that draft conceptual rules had been published and invited comments to be submitted via rules@lcb.wa.gov. As staff didn’t “see [the rulemaking] as very controversial,” she indicated comments would be accepted through April 25th and the CR-102 “will be filed on May 11th.”
    • Board Chair David Postman called the project “not one of our more exciting things,” but anyone interested could “take a look” and offer comments. He said the purpose of the changes was to “help the smooth running” of agency adjudication proceedings and "back shop operations" by WSLCB (audio - 1m, video).
  • Pesticide Action Levels (audio - 1m, video, Rulemaking Project)
    • Acknowledging the CR-102 approved by board members on March 30th, Hoffman stated that effort would align “that particular rule section with the quality control rule updates.” A public hearing was on track for May 11th, Hoffman noted, and she expected to present the CR-103 for the board to adopt final changes on May 25th. “There have been one or two comments received, mostly in the form of questions about what the rules might do,” she remarked, but overall “very little feedback.”
  • HB 1210 Implementation (audio - 2m, video, Rulemaking Project)
    • Hoffman explained that Policy and Rules Coordinator Jeff Kildahl was taking on expedited rulemaking for the 2022 law that “changed the word ‘marijuana’ to ‘cannabis’ in statute.” She said the project would cover cannabis rules as well as references in other areas of WAC Title 314, and use a less common CR-105 rule process to expedite the changes as mandated by HB 1210. While the public could comment, there wouldn’t be a public hearing for the project, Hoffman commented, which could go straight to a CR-103 “45 days after the [CR-]105 and its content have been published.” She told the board that the CR-105 was likely to be presented for their consideration on April 27th.
      • RCW 34.05.353(7) lays out CR-105 procedures, stating “If no written objections to the expedited rule making are filed with the agency within forty-five days after the notice of proposed expedited rule making is published, or if all objections that have been filed are withdrawn by the persons filing the objections, the agency may enter an order adopting or repealing the rule without further notice or a public hearing.”
      • The WSLCB description of CR-105 procedures states “if the Board receives an objection to using this process, it must file a CR-102 and hold a public hearing before adopting the rule.”
  • Social Equity (audio - 3m, video, Rulemaking Project) 
    • Hoffman described how she planned to present a CR-102 with proposed rules to create a social equity licensing program at the next day’s board meeting. She reported that the package “aligns with the recommendations of” the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF) and “amends…several licensing rules to align with the language that we’re introducing in the social equity program.”
      • The official response from WSLCB to the recommendations included use of a revised applicant scoring rubric not endorsed by the task force.
    • Hoffman stated other edits would increase the readability of the rules by moving away from "legalese" language, so that “folks to whom the rules apply can understand what they say.” She brought up the CR-102 memorandum which was extensive and reflective of how “the agency thinks about rulemaking and policy development.” Hoffman highlighted inclusion of a “complete” diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) analysis, which the board should expect to start seeing as part of the rulemaking process at WSLCB. She then called attention to a comparison table “in the package that lays out the social equity program rules, how it aligns with the recommendation of the social equity task force” and the statutory authority of the agency.
    • Board Member Ollie Garrett conveyed her excitement at the progress and called attention to the “huge turnout” at the March 23rd listen and learn forum. She mentioned how comments had been incorporated to change the rule language, which she felt was “great work.” Hoffman cited the inclusion of the scoring rubric in rule and definitional changes before offering her general gratitude for "all the ways that feedback was received" and how "everyone was heard" (audio - 1m, video).
    • Postman lauded their work, in particular the comparison chart, which “really shows how aligned the LCB is with the task force” even if it wasn’t “100 percent.” Hoffman shared credit with Director of Licensing Becky Smith and her staff. Postman agreed, pointing to the “turnaround that Licensing led in our collaboration with the task force and the legislature” over the previous year. "It's the beginning of a lot of work to be done," he stated, and though he felt staff was excited by the progress, there remained “a lot more hard work” (audio - 3m, video).
    • Later in the meeting Postman predicted “we are going to approve the CR-102 for social equity.”

• Board Member Ollie Garrett discussed her involvement in a recent presentation on social equity for officials on the Seattle City Council (audio - 1m, video).
  • Garrett commented on how she and Smith made a presentation regarding the status of social equity to the Seattle City Council Finance and Housing Committee on April 6th. They’d given a “full overview” to the committee which was contemplating “if there’s anything the city itself can be doing.” Postman agreed that Smith and Garrett—the board’s appointee to WA SECTF— had learned a lot “through this process” worth sharing. Garrett said she was pleased to see municipal leaders “taking the time to bring us in and to know what it is we are doing.” Postman was pleased, sharing his hope that other city governments “do it as well.”
    • Check out other materials and information from the meeting:
      • Agenda
      • Meeting Minutes
      • Complete Video
    • During the meeting, members heard from cannabis business representatives as well:
      • Chris Thao, Co-Owner of Humble Root, a California-based cannabis delivery service
      • Javier Hernandez,  Humble Root Director 
      • Norbert Pickett, Owner of Cannabliss, Washington, D.C.’s first African American owned medical cannabis dispensary
      • Trey Reckling, Founder of the Academy of Cannabis Science and Have a Heart Training and Development Manager
    • The meeting was the committee’s third looking at cannabis policy:
      • On February 16th, they heard a "Community Panel" on social equity in the cannabis sector.
      • On March 2nd, members hosted a "National City Panel on Cannabis Polices and Programs" with officials from Boston, Denver, Sacramento, and Oakland, as well as a presentation on Seattle officials’ racial equity toolkit (RET).
  • The WA SECTF Community Reinvestment Work Group planned to hold its second meeting on Thursday April 14th.

• Board Chair David Postman referenced retail safety updates expected at the following day’s board meeting (audio - 1m, video).
  • Postman said there was “a lot on the agenda” for the Wednesday April 13th board meeting, in particular an update on “cannabis retail and other safety issues. There’s been a lot going on since our roundtable on the 29th” which would be covered in detailed reports from staff.
    • Chief Financial Officer Jim Morgan was prepared to present on “Cashless Payment Systems.”
    • Enforcement and Education Director Chandra Brady would provide a “Cannabis Retail Security Update.”
  • He noted that later in the day there’d be a “licensees-only meeting with law enforcement to talk about best practices” and that other measures discussed during the safety roundtable were being pursued, including “cashless systems, federal legislation, state legislation that could help…all sorts of things.”
    • On April 11th, a suspect in the death of 29 year old budtender Jordan Brown was arrested in Kent. The 15 year old alleged perpetrator was charged with murdering Brown during a retail robbery on March 19th, as well as potentially having committed armed thefts of other businesses in western Washington with a 16 year old accomplice.
    • WSLCB leaders were also scheduled to convene their monthly Executive Management Team meeting in the afternoon on Wednesday April 13th, and had allocated 25 minutes for “Updates and Follow Through” on the Cannabis Retail Safety Forum.

Information Set