Senators heard mixed testimony after mixing the hearings on two very different bills, home grow encountered a hitch in the House, and the WRAP Act would be unwrapped in Appropriations.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Friday February 10th, the 33rd day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- Leadership of the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) combined the public hearings on two vastly different bills on Thursday February 9th, perhaps illustrating—and likely reinforcing—persistent divisions within the cannabis sector (video).
- SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
- Positions (testifying, not testifying)
- PRO: 63
- CON: 51
- OTHER: 2
- SB 5377 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
- Positions (testifying, not testifying)
- PRO: 11
- CON: 24
- OTHER: 4
- SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
- Also on Thursday, action was not taken on the home grow bill by members of the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG).
- None of the bills scheduled for executive session were acted upon. At publication time, the legislation to entrust adults to grow six Cannabis sativa L. plants had not been rescheduled for movement out of its policy committee.
- In 2021, legislators passed HB 1443 which tasked the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF) with providing recommendations on “The social equity impact of altering residential cannabis agriculture regulations.” In August 2022, a task force work group established for that purpose was convened. Work group members and community participants discussed the subject and reviewed data gathered from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) which showed that Black Washingtonians were five times more likely to be arrested on average for home cultivation of six plants or less than their White counterparts. Before adjourning, work group members drafted a recommendation to the full task force advocating for home grow which found “legalizing residential cultivation of cannabis for personal use would eliminate this clear disparate impact” and “would carry with it a definable social equity benefit. The degree of the benefit is measurable.”
- The next day, the full task force adopted the recommendations of the work group which were incorporated into the final report of the task force delivered to legislators on December 8th as recommendation nine on page 36. The social equity task force found “the accumulated harm suffered by individuals, families, and local areas subject to severe impacts from the application and enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws…for small residential cannabis cultivation are not only historical, but they are also ongoing” and would be lessened by “Institutional support that changes policy to limit arrests and convictions.“
- A House fiscal committee announced a public hearing on the WRAP Act containing provisions impacting cannabis product packaging for Wednesday February 15th.
- The Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) planned to hear public testimony on HB 1131, “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”
- HB 1131 was heard in the Washington State House Environment and Energy Committee (WA House ENVI) on January 17th then amended and recommended on February 2nd.
- At publication time, the senate companion bill SB 5154 had not been scheduled to be heard in the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM). Remarkably, the 131 page bills remained identical after substantial amendment by both of their policy committees.