The Week Ahead
(January 16, 2023)

The Week Ahead - 15 Active Cannabis Bills

15 cannabis bills—3x as many as were pre-filed—would be active as of Monday while the WSLCB board moved towards opening the social equity program retail application window.

Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.

Monday January 16th

WA House - Session

On Monday at 10am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) would convene in session.

  • One cannabis bill was scheduled for introduction in the House on Monday morning:
    • HB 1341, “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
      • Representative Sharon Wylie planned to introduce an identical house companion to the senate out-of-state ownership bill, SB 5377, which had been introduced on Friday January 13th. Wylie co-chaired the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) where the bill would likely be referred.

WA Senate - Session

On Monday at 12:30pm PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene a pro forma session.

  • Two cannabis bills were scheduled for introduction in the Senate on Monday:
    • SB 5404 - “Increasing cannabis revenue distributions to local governments.”
      • Senator Keith Wagoner planned to introduce legislation to double the allotment of cannabis revenue to local jurisdictions.
        • From 1.5 to “Three percent to counties, cities, and towns where licensed cannabis retailers are physically located”
        • And from 3.5 to “Seven percent to counties, cities, and towns ratably on a per capita basis”
    • SB 5405 - “Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority.”
      • Senator Curtis King planned to sponsor WSLCB request legislation granting the agency subpoena authority in relation to cannabis investigations, proceedings, and hearings.

WA House RSG - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • HB 1249 - "Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products."
      • Introduced on Thursday January 12th by Representatives Chris Corry and Kristine Reeves, this bill would create a higher possession limit for a certain class of liquid edibles (“Two hundred milligrams of THC within a cannabis-infused product in liquid form if the product is packaged in individual units containing no more than four milligrams of THC per unit”).
      • Reeves was a member of WA House RSG where the bill would initially be heard.
      • Senator Curtis King introduced identical companion legislation in the Senate, SB 5340, on the same day. At publication time, that bill had not been scheduled for an initial policy committee hearing.

Tuesday January 17th

WSLCB - Board Caucus

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Members planned to be publicly introduced to the new Tribal and Government Liaison, Marla Conwell, on Tuesday morning.

WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting

On Tuesday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • SB 5069 - "Allowing interstate cannabis agreements."
      • A bill to open Washington cannabis businesses to interstate commerce under certain conditions, SB 5069 was heard the week prior on Tuesday January 10th and drew unified support from the sector, but opposition from advocates who prioritized social equity.
      • Should it remain scheduled, SB 5069 would be the first cannabis bill to be granted an executive session during the 2023 regular legislative session.

WA House RSG - Committee Meeting

On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1159 - "Allowing interstate cannabis agreements."
      • The largely identical House companion to SB 5069, HB 1159 was heard during the afternoon of Tuesday January 10th when testifiers were granted additional time to convey their perspectives as compared to the compressed senate hearing.
      • Originally scheduled for executive session on Monday January 16th, the bill was shifted to the committee’s Tuesday meeting at the same time HB 1249 was slotted in for a public hearing on Monday.

Wednesday January 18th

WSLCB - Board Meeting

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • At the start of the meeting on Wednesday, Licensing staff were scheduled to host an “Informational Session” on “Social Equity Cannabis.”
    • While the application window for the retail social equity program had yet to be announced, the interactive mapping tool encoding disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs) was launched on Tuesday January 10th and announced the following day. The DIA tool was previously described as one of the last significant hurdles to launching the social equity program.
  • Policy and Rules staff would also present their analysis of and recommendation to deny a rulemaking petition to open processor licensure for existing producers, and open rulemaking on allowing cloud storage of records.

Thursday January 19th

WA House RSG - Committee Meeting

On Thursday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Work Session
    • “Examining the Development of Cannabis Policy and Regulation Since Passage of Initiative 502 (2012).”
    • WSLCB Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Webster lightly described the agency role in this presentation during his update at the end of the January 11th WSLCB Executive Management Team meeting (audio - 4m, video - TVW).

WTSC - Commission Meeting

On Thursday at 10am PT, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) planned to host their quarterly meeting.

Friday January 20th

WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee - Public Meeting

On Friday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission Legislative Committee (WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee) was scheduled to convene their monthly public meeting.