Legislators continued to undertake cannabis bills slowly, especially in the senate, but perennial subjects like out-of-state ownership had been positioned for consideration.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday January 23rd
WA House - Session
On Monday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.
- While no cannabis-specific bills were scheduled for introduction in the House or Senate on Monday morning, an additional bill was brought to our attention by the Cannabis Alliance.
- HB 1066 - “Making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.”
- Pre-filed by Representative Roger Goodman, among many other changes this bill would continue the work of HB 1210 in revising mentions of the term ‘marijuana’ to ‘cannabis’ in additional sections of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).
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 1341 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
- Introduced one week ago on Monday January 16th, HB 1341 is an out-of-state ownership bill featuring suspension of inactive producer licenses until interstate commerce becomes viable. See the bill analysis and the fiscal note published late on Sunday January 22nd.
- HB 1341 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
Tuesday January 24th
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 ]
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 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
- Heard on January 10th and 12th, WSLCB request legislation to refine the social equity licensing program appeared to have significant momentum amongst legislators and stakeholders.
- At publication time, the initial social equity retail application window remained set to be opened on March 1st - although it was Cannabis Observer’s understanding that concerns about the representativeness of disproportionately impacted area (DIA) maps had begun to be voiced.
- Contractor MakeGreenGo! planned to host two instructional webinars on applying for a cannabis retail license in the State of Washington on Tuesday January 24th and Saturday January 28th.
- SB 5123 - “Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.”
- Heard on January 10th, the bill to ban pre-employment cannabis testing for many businesses received supportive testimony from the cannabis sector, labor interests, and police, with some business voices dissenting.
- An initial executive session planned for January 19th was removed the day before after an influential democratic senator voiced concerns that furthering social equity should be prioritized ahead of other changes in the cannabis sector.
- SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
WA HCA - DBHR Listening Session
On Tuesday at 1:30pm PT, the monthly Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) Behavioral Health Service Provider Listening Session was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
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 ]
- Public Hearing
- HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
- Introduced on Thursday January 19th, the bill would exempt registered medical cannabis patients from the 37% excise tax levied on DOH-compliant cannabis products purchased at retailers holding a medical cannabis endorsement.
- HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
Wednesday January 25th
WSLCB - Board Meeting
On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to continue.
- [ Event Details ]
- On Wednesday January 18th during the regularly scheduled bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting, agency staff encountered compounding technical difficulties which prevented the board meeting from occurring. Specifically, staff could not bring the projector and microphones online in the main board room. After thirty minutes of effort, including attempts to move the physical location of the meeting, board members called for continuing the meeting at a later date.
- At publication time, the agenda for the January 25th meeting remained identical to the January 18th agenda.
Thursday January 26th
WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 8am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
- This bill would provide substantial financial incentives to cannabis retailers to undertake “physical security improvements” of licensed premises. Specifically, “The cannabis excise tax established in (a) of this subsection is 32 percent for cannabis retailers that spend $3,000 or more for physical security improvements to prevent theft at any single cannabis retail establishment in a calendar year. The reduced rate begins the month after the $3,000 threshold is met and expires after 12 months.”
- SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
Friday January 27th
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 weekly public meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
- At the Friday January 20th meeting, commissioners reviewed the bill report prepared by commission staff. Cannabis Observer shared the following feedback through the webinar chat: ‘As I don't see SB 5367 in the published bill report, I wanted to be sure the commissioners were aware of the WSLCB request legislation “Concerning the regulation of products containing THC” which explicitly names the commission as a potential licensing authority in section 5.’
- Commission Chair Teri Ferreira read the message aloud and staff indicated their peers in the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) had not explicitly requested feedback on the bill. Several commissioners agreed the bill should be added to their list of watched legislation.