WA Legislature - Update
(February 23, 2023)

WA Legislature - Update (Feb 23, 2023) - Takeaways

The first substantial cannabis legislation was passed by the Senate, home grow was heard in its fiscal committee, and four cannabis bills were positioned for executive sessions on Thursday.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Thursday February 23rd, the 46th day of the 2023 Regular Session.

My top 4 takeaways:

  • During their floor session on Wednesday February 22nd, senators amended and passed legislation which would restrict pre-employment testing for cannabis use.
    • Senator Karen Keiser, chair of the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC), presided over the hearing on SB 5123, ("Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis"), on January 10th followed by an executive session on January 31st. Senator Rebecca Saldaña pulled the bill to the Senate floor calendar in the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) on February 8th.
    • During the floor session, Senator Curtis King withdrew one amendment and offered a revised one which would exclude “safety sensitive positions for which impairment while working presents a substantial risk of death” as identified by employers. Keiser, also the Senate Speaker Pro Tempore, endorsed the amendment and it was incorporated into the bill.
    • Senators voted 28-21 to pass the legislation, the first substantial cannabis bill to be passed by a chamber in the 2023 regular session. The legislation would be referred to the House for consideration.
  • Also on Wednesday, representatives hosted a public hearing on the fiscal dimensions of the home grow bill after an unusual staff briefing.
    • Granted a late start midway through fiscal committee cutoff week, representatives received a staff briefing on HB 1614 (“Concerning the home cultivation of cannabis”) from Fiscal Analyst Matt Mazur-Hart during his first year on the job. Towards the end of his briefing, Mazur-Hart oddly offered an “illustrative” example of a potential $5M revenue impact to the State in the event of a half percent decline in excise tax collections. Both Chair Timm Ormsby and Representative Bryan Sandlin followed up to confirm Mazur-Hart was the source of the conjecture, as the fiscal note by Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) staff who collect the excise tax specified cash receipt impacts from the bill as “None.”
    • Four individuals testified including a police association lobbyist who explained her group’s new position of ‘other.’
    • Positions (testifying + not testifying - duplicates = total)
      • PRO: 5 + 11 - 1 = 15
      • CON: 1 + 20 - 0 = 21
      • OTHER: 1 + 0 - 0 = 1
    • An executive session on the bill remained scheduled for the committee meeting on Friday February 24th - the same day as the fiscal committee cutoff.
  • The Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL) moved a bill which would more formally prohibit cannabis infused alcohol products to the chamber’s second reading calendar.
    • On Wednesday, representatives pulled HB 1772 ("Prohibiting products that combine alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol") to the House second reading calendar, the only cannabis-related legislation among 135 bills ready for floor action at publication time.
    • Six cannabis bills remained in WA House RUL amidst 246 bills assigned to the committee at publication time.
  • On Thursday February 23rd, four cannabis bills were scheduled for executive sessions in fiscal committees in the House and Senate.
    • HB 1131 - “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”
      • On Thursday, WA House APP members planned to host an executive session on the Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act. A new substitute bill with extensive modifications would be proposed by Representative Vandana Slatter which “Eliminates the directive to the Liquor and Cannabis Board to update rules pertaining to the packaging of cannabis products.” If adopted, the bill would no longer carry cannabis-specific provisions.
      • SB 5154, the Senate companion legislation, had not been scheduled to be heard by its fiscal committee at publication time.
    • SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
    • SB 5377 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
      • WA Senate WM members also heard the out-of-state ownership + “inactive” producer suspension bill on February 20th.
      • At publication time, there were no published amendments.
    • SB 5367 - "Concerning the regulation of products containing THC."
      • On Saturday February 18th, testimony on the cannabinoid regulation bill championed by WSLCB was divided over THC threshold concerns, and included claims the bill would bolster cannabis tax revenue.
      • Prime sponsor June Robinson planned to propose an amendment which would halve the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limits for hemp consumable products from 1 milligram (mg) per serving to 0.5mg, and from 3mg per package to 1.5mg.