WA Legislature - Update
(February 24, 2023)

Three cannabis bills were moved on Thursday and home grow was poised for advance on Friday before the house of origin fiscal committee cutoff would leave 19 cannabis bills in play.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Friday February 24th, the 47th day of the 2023 Regular Session.

My top 4 takeaways:

• Four cannabis-related bills were advanced by their fiscal committees on Thursday February 23rd - but in the process one of the bills had its cannabis provisions entirely removed.
  • HB 1131 - “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”
    • Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) members adopted a second substitute version of the Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act on Thursday which eliminated “the directive to the Liquor and Cannabis Board to update rules pertaining to the packaging of cannabis products.” The bill was further amended and advanced but no longer contains provisions specific to the cannabis sector.
  • SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
    • Legislation to authorize a referendum of producers to establish a cannabis agricultural commodity commission was recommended without modification by the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) on Thursday. Republican Senator Mark Schoesler spoke up to say he felt the bill needed additional unspecified work ahead of a floor vote, but recommended his colleagues advance the bill (audio - <1m, video).
  • SB 5377 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
    • The out-of-state ownership bill with provisions to suspend “inactive” producers was similarly recommended out of committee without modification in the senate. Democratic Senator Bob Hasegawa signified his opposition by stating that the bill was “just opening our state’s cannabis industry up to corporate control from out of state” (audio < 1m, video). The legislation was recommended out of committee in a mixed voice vote.
  • SB 5367 - "Concerning the regulation of products containing THC."
    • The WSLCB tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and hemp consumables bill was modified to incorporate prime sponsor June Robinson’s amendment which would halve the limits for hemp consumable products from 1 milligram (mg) THC per serving to 0.5mg, and from 3mg per package to 1.5mg. Republican Senator Ann Rivers expressed her appreciation for the gesture but emphasized her on-going concerns about youth access to products containing any THC (audio - 1m, video).
      • While it is possible to use chromatography or degradation techniques to separate the majority of THC from other compounds in hemp extracts, it’s Cannabis Observer’s understanding that no technique can provably achieve 0% THC because of the limits of detection associated with any analytical method.
    • The legislation was recommended out of committee in what appeared to be a fairly unanimous voice vote.
  • All four bills were recommended to their respective rules committees for calendaring.

• Upon introduction in the House on Friday, SB 5123 (“Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis”) would be referred to the Washington State House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee (WA House LAWS).
  • There was an unusual amount of media coverage following the passage of the bill.

• On Friday February 24th, members of the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) planned to host an executive session on the home grow bill.
  • HB 1614, “Concerning the home cultivation of cannabis,” was heard by representatives on Wednesday February 22nd after an unusual staff briefing.
  • At publication time, there were no published amendments.

• Friday marked the house of origin fiscal committee cutoff, the second gateway of the 2023 regular session which most bills had to traverse to continue being considered by lawmakers.
  • The cutoff 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.
  • Notably, WA House APP leadership scheduled and heard all cannabis bills which were referred to the committee. If HB 1614 receives its executive session as planned, members will have also granted all of its cannabis bills the opportunity to be moved ahead.
  • In the other chamber, WA Senate WM members did not host public hearings on two cannabis bills assigned to them.
    • SB 5154 - “Improving Washington's solid waste management outcomes.”
      • The house companion bill HB 1131 remained active, though absent cannabis provisions.
    • SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
      • This legislation, which somewhat tangentially included significant cannabis sector provisions, generated substantial friction between labor and big box retail representatives which appears to have been irreconcilable.
  • Assuming those two bills remain unmoved and with the exclusion of HB 1131, 19 cannabis-related bills would remain active in the 2023 regular session following the house of origin fiscal committee cutoff on Friday.