Legislators moved four bills forward and heard two more, cannabis packaging changes may be delegated to WSLCB, and a substantial new labor bill was prepared for introduction.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Wednesday February 1st, the 24th day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 4 takeaways:
- On Tuesday January 31st, members of the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) hosted executive sessions on four cannabis bills, amending and recommending all four out of committee.
- SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
- Prime sponsor and Vice Chair Rebecca Saldaña put forward substantial revisions in a proposed substitute which she asked to be further amended. Only one additional amendment from Senator Curtis King was accepted, three others by King and Senator Drew MacEwen were not adopted.
- The bill was referred to the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM).
- SB 5123 - “Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.”
- Prime sponsor and Chair Karen Keiser asked that a proposed substitute be adopted, and resisted an amendment by King.
- The bill was referred to the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) for calendaring.
- SB 5376 - “Allowing the sale of cannabis waste.”
- Prime sponsor Senator Derek Stanford asked that an amendment made at the request of Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) staff be incorporated.
- The bill was referred to WA Senate WM.
- SB 5405 - “Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority.”
- King offered a proposed substitute which was adopted and passed.
- The bill was referred to WA Senate RULE.
- On Wednesday February 1st, WA Senate RULE members planned to convene in the afternoon to consent to a package pull of bills and exercise one pull per member from the rules white sheet. After the committee report is read during the senate floor session in the late morning, two of these bills could be moved to the floor calendar for subsequent action.
- SB 5069, “Allowing interstate cannabis agreements,” had been pulled to the Senate regular calendar and could be selected for its second and third reading on Wednesday.
- SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
- Also on Tuesday, members of the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) hosted initial public hearings on the patient arrest protection bill and legislation to require a popular vote before exercising local control over cannabis business siting.
- HB 1563 - “Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.”
- [ video ]
- Positions (testifying, not testifying)
- Every person who signed in supported the bill with the sole exception of Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Deputy Director Taylor Gardner (video).
- HB 1650 - "Requiring voter approval for local government prohibitions on cannabis businesses."
- [ video ]
- Positions (testifying, not testifying)
- This bill was broadly supported by representatives of the cannabis sector and resisted by cities and counties.
- HB 1563 - “Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.”
- Companion solid waste bills which included provisions impacting cannabis packaging would likely be substantially revised to remove that language and instead require the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) to take up rulemaking to achieve similar effects.
- HB 1131 and SB 5154, “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes,” were respectively heard in the Washington State House Environment and Energy Committee (WA House ENVI) on January 17th and the Washington State Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee (WA Senate ENET) on January 17th and 18th.
- On Tuesday, proposed substitute bills were published for the House and Senate versions of the legislation with identical changes. The list of effects indicated:
- “Eliminates [Post-Consumer Recycled Content] PCRC requirements for cannabis-based products.
- Directs the Liquor and Cannabis Board to update cannabis packaging rules to reduce plastic packaging in an amount commensurate with a [producer responsibility organization] PRO's source reduction rate, to allow for and encourage the reuse of cannabis containers, and authorizes the Liquor and Cannabis Board to adopt PCRC rules for cannabis packaging in consultation with Ecology.”
- See sections 125 and 503
- HB 1131 was scheduled for executive session in WA House ENVI on Thursday February 2nd and SB 5154 was scheduled for action in WA Senate ENET on Friday February 3rd.
- A substantial new cannabis bill, SB 5662 (“Creating the cannabis employee job retention act”), was scheduled for introduction by Senator Rebecca Saldaña on Wednesday.
- The 21-page bill would assign authority to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (WA LNI) to exercise oversight in relation to ownership changes of cannabis businesses.
- The bill appeared to offer a superficial resemblance to CB 120393, an ordinance altering Seattle employment rules around cannabis worker retention by changing notification and hiring practices during business assumptions, which was passed by the Seattle City Council in August 2022 as part of a suite of equity- and labor-focused legislation.
- The bill would likely be referred to WA Senate LC where Saldaña presided as Vice Chair.