Legislators heard two cannabis bills on Tuesday on pre-employment testing for cannabis use and social equity, and would presumably not be moving two bills out of the Senate Rules x-file.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Wednesday March 15th, the 66th day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- On Tuesday March 14th, members of the Washington State House Labor and Workplace Safety Committee (WA House LAWS) hosted a public hearing on SB 5123, legislation seeking to end the discriminatory practice of pre-employment drug testing for state legal cannabis use.
- Positions (testifying + not testifying - duplicates = total)
- PRO: 2 + 18 - 2 = 18
- CON: 4 + 15 - 2 = 17
- OTHER: 1 + 2 - 0 = 3
- Prime sponsor Senator Karen Keiser visited to introduce her bill and spoke powerfully to the principles underpinning SB 5123 (audio - 3m, video).
- The senator did not equivocate in decrying a fundamental flaw of cannabis drug testing regimes: “you cannot test for cannabis impairment.” She noted “the only test” available to employers may show use of state legal cannabis products sometime in the past 30 days, referring to the practice as a discriminatory “vestige of the war on drugs.”
- Electrical workers and a labor representative spoke in favor of the legislation while construction industry representatives hoped to continue the practice even though the legislation would do nothing to prevent employers from maintaining drug free workplace policies and testing active employees. Law enforcement representatives asked for a specific, wider carve out despite the addition of a provision in the bill which exempted employers of “safety sensitive position[s] for which impairment while working presents a substantial risk of death.“
- Positions (testifying + not testifying - duplicates = total)
- Also on Tuesday, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) hosted a lengthy public hearing on SB 5080, request legislation by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) to further codify and expand the social equity in cannabis program.
- Positions (testifying + not testifying - duplicates = total)
- PRO: 7 + 107 - 2 = 112
- CON: 1 + 71 - 2 = 70
- OTHER: 2 + 2 - 0 = 4
- Following substantial amendments at every opportunity in the Senate, most testifiers seemed satisfied with the bill as written and advocated for its passage without further changes.
- However, committee members asked many clarifying questions, particularly around prime sponsor Senator Rebecca Saldaña’s final amendment on the Senate floor which would grant local control over cannabis retail licensing decisions by the WSLCB - a first for any substance regulated by the agency. Representatives of cities and counties were very appreciative of the potential grant of authority - and asked for more, seeking a longer time period in which to organize objections and the right to override licensing decisions for new producers and processors as well.
- The bill language describing the circumstance specifies “The board may not issue a cannabis retail license for any premises not currently licensed,” which presumably protects existing licensees from having their businesses shuttered on license renewal - though we have observed one jurisdiction that filed objections to renewals, too.
- Representative Kristine Reeves asked for clarification on the amended bill language which specified objections may be filed by “an official representative or representatives of an incorporated city or town, or county legislative authority” to ask whether that meant a single city council member or county commissioner could prevent the siting of a cannabis store in their jurisdiction. The representative of counties assumed a public meeting would be required by county legislators to issue an objection to licensure, but the city representative remained silent.
- Positions (testifying + not testifying - duplicates = total)
- On Wednesday, the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) was scheduled to convene, but the two cannabis bills in that committee at the house of origin cutoff were explicitly placed in the committee x-file and were presumably out of the running for 2023.
- Two cannabis bills were not granted a floor session by senators:
- The official Washington State Legislature "Guide to Lawmaking" notes that, “After certain cut-off dates, the Rules Committee sometimes places bills in the x-file if they are no longer available for consideration. Bills placed in the x-file are removed from all calendars and daily status sheets. While most bills remain in the x-file until the end of the biennium, some may be pulled for further consideration.”