The Week Ahead
(February 20, 2023)

WA Legislature - Fiscal Committee Gateway

With 22 of 34 cannabis-related bills through the initial house of origin policy committee gateway, the fiscal committees took over - and four bills appeared to have uncertain futures.

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

Monday February 20th

WA House FIN - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Finance Committee (WA House FIN) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”

WA Senate WM - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
      • At publication time, an executive session on this bill had not been scheduled in WA Senate WM.
    • SB 5377 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
      • At publication time, an executive session on this bill had not been scheduled in WA Senate WM.
  • Executive Session
    • SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
    • SB 5376 - “Allowing the sale of cannabis waste.”
  • At publication time, this was the last WA Senate WM committee meeting during which cannabis-related bills were scheduled to be heard or moved. The following bills had been referred to WA Senate WM but did not have hearings scheduled:
    • SB 5154 - “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”
      • The House version of this bill, HB 1131, was being moved in the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP).
    • SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”

Tuesday February 21st

WA House FIN - Committee Meeting

On Wednesday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Finance Committee (WA House FIN) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
      • This second, earlier date for an executive session on HB 1453 was announced on February 16th.

WSLCB - Board Caucus

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

Wednesday February 22nd

WA House FIN - Committee Meeting

On Wednesday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Finance Committee (WA House FIN) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
      • Assuming an executive session is hosted on HB 1453, all cannabis related bills referred to WA House FIN will have been heard and moved as of this meeting.

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Wednesday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

Thursday February 23rd

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Thursday at 9am PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1131 - “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”

Friday February 24th

House of Origin Fiscal Committee Cutoff

On Friday, the Washington State Legislature would mark the House of Origin Fiscal Committee Cutoff.

  • The second gateway that most cannabis bills must be shepherded through would occur on Friday and was described as the “Last day to read in committee reports (pass bills out of committee and read them into the record on the floor) from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in house of origin.”
  • Legislation can be declared "necessary to implement budgets" (NTIB), an informal procedure leadership can exercise around any bill with a fiscal impact. The criteria for NTIB status and the decision making around the designation hadn’t been set in law or rule, allowing for a bypass of the cutoff calendar which is agreed to by both chambers through the legislative process.
  • 22 of 34 introduced cannabis-related bills tracked by Cannabis Observer were moved through the initial House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff. At publication time, only SB 5154 and SB 5259 had not been calendared to be heard in WA Senate WM while SB 5546 and SB 5377 did not have executive sessions calendared. All other cannabis-related bills had either bypassed consideration by a fiscal committee or were scheduled for such consideration during the week.

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Friday at 9am PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1614 - “Concerning the home cultivation of cannabis.”
      • Assuming an executive session is hosted on HB 1614, all cannabis related bills referred to WA House APP will have been heard and moved as of this meeting.

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.