WA Governor - Bill Action (May 10, 2019) - Summary

Six cannabis-related bills are not yet signed into law.

Washington’s regular legislative session adjourned sine die on Sunday April 28th. A special legislative session has not been called by Governor Jay Inslee.

Throughout the 2019 session, Cannabis Observer summarized legislative activity on cannabis-related bills including the house of origin, committee report, opposite house, and sine die cutoffs; and executive actions as of last Friday. Of the eleven cannabis-related bills passed by the legislature this year, five have been signed into law while six await executive action in the coming days. Should the Governor take no action within this time, the bills become law without his signature. The Office of the Governor’s bill action page lists scheduled executive actions and actions previously taken.

Here are some observations on the eleven cannabis-related bills delivered to the Governor.

Six cannabis-related bills were not yet signed into law, five with a deadline of May 20th and one with a deadline of May 23rd.
- SB 5298 – “Regarding labeling of marijuana products.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to Governor Jay Inslee Friday April 26th for executive action by May 20th. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature and the Final Bill Report.
- SB 5318 – “Reforming the compliance and enforcement provisions for marijuana licensees.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to the Governor Friday April 26th for executive action by May 20th. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature and the Final Bill Report.
- SB 5605 – “Concerning misdemeanor marijuana offense convictions.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to the Governor Friday April 29th for executive action by May 23rd. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature and the Final Bill Report.
  - During the general meeting of The Cannabis Alliance on Thursday May 9th, Alan Ralston shared his expectation that SB 5605 would likely be signed on Friday May 21st. This was Ralston’s first session as contract lobbyist for the non-profit trade association.
  - The bill includes a “null and void clause” (Section 2) which necessitates appropriation of funding by June 30th for the law to go into effect.
  - If funding is secured, it is not clear how many persons could seek relief under the new law. In the final fiscal note for the bill dated February 17th, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) identified 43,506 persons whose convictions since 2004 would qualify. The Washington State Patrol (WSP) Criminal Records Division found 68,543 convictions that matched the original bill’s criteria. But the number of eligible individuals may be substantially higher because the Chair of the House Public Safety Committee, Representative Roger Goodman, introduced an amendment on April 1st to expand the scope of the bill to cover state-level convictions dating back to 1971 as well as “equivalent municipal ordinance[s].”
- HB 1792 – “Concerning criminal penalties applicable to licensed marijuana retailers and employees of marijuana retail outlets.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to the Governor Friday April 26th for executive action by May 20th. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
- HB 1794 – “Concerning agreements between licensed marijuana businesses and other people and businesses, including royalty and licensing agreements relating to the use of intellectual property.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summary of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to the Governor Friday April 26th, for executive action by May 20th. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
- HB 2052 – “Clarifying marijuana product testing by revising provisions concerning marijuana testing laboratory accreditation and establishing a cannabis science task force.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - The bill was delivered to the Governor Friday April 26th for executive action by May 20th. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
Five cannabis-related bills had been signed into law.

SB 5276 – “Authorizing hemp production in conformance with the agriculture improvement act of 2018.”

See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of SB 5276's committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
On Friday April 26th, Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill. It joins Chapter 158 of the 2019 Session Laws and became effective immediately. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature and the Final Bill Report.
The signing ceremony’s official photos show that sponsoring Senator Doug Ericksen was not present, though Senator Bob Hasegawa, Representative Derek Stanford, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Policy Advisor Kelly McLain and other supporters did attend (video).
On Monday April 29th, WSDA’s Industrial Hemp Research Pilot (IHRP) released a message describing next steps the agency was undertaking. The infusion of funding associated with the bill has enabled the IHRP to begin reviewing and approving new hemp licensees.

HB 1094 – “Establishing compassionate care renewals for medical marijuana qualifying patients.”

See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of HB 1094's committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
On Tuesday April 30th, Governor Inslee signed the bill. It joins Chapter 203 of the 2019 Session Laws with an effective date of July 28th.
Governor Inslee remarked that the legislation “cuts down on the time and paperwork needed to renew medical marijuana authorization status.” He acknowledged the importance of the new law for those with “medical or behavioral limitations” and thanked the sponsor, Representative Brian Blake, and the sponsor of the companion bill Senator Dean Takko (video).
See the ceremony’s official photos.

HB 1095 – “Concerning the administration of marijuana to students for medical purposes.”

See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
On Tuesday April 30th, Governor Inslee signed the bill. It joins Chapter 204 of the 2019 Session Laws with an effective date of July 28th.
“Oh, we got another one here,” Inslee said as he realized he was signing back-to-back cannabis bills sponsored by Representative Blake. Inslee remarked that “currently, children who need medical marijuana for such reasons as seizures or intractable pain for instance, have to leave school to take it, thus missing valuable education time. Under this bill, school districts must adopt policies, if requested, to allow parents or guardians” to administer cannabis concentrates for their children. After signing the bill into law, Inslee told Blake he was “rackin’ ‘em up” (video).
See the ceremony’s official photos.

HB 1415 – “Modifying funding of the medical marijuana authorization database.”

See Cannabis Observer’s summary of HB 1415's committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
On Tuesday April 30th, Governor Inslee signed the bill. It joins Chapter 220 of the 2019 Session Laws with an effective date of July 1st.
Commenting on the legislation, the Governor said it had been requested by the Department of Health to “streamline and improve how the medical marijuana authorization database is funded.” He noted the change from an “annual reimbursement” from the Health Professions Account to a “direct appropriation” from the Dedicated Marijuana Account would “be more efficient.” Inslee thanked the bill sponsor, Representative Joe Schmick, and the Senate companion sponsor, Senator Emily Randall (video).
See the ceremony’s official photos.

HB 1430 – “Concerning the licensing and enforcement system modernization project account.”

See Cannabis Observer’s summary of HB 1415's committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
On Monday April 29th, Governor Inslee signed the bill. It joins Chapter 164 of the 2019 Session Laws with an effective date of June 1st.
In a swift signing with no guests, the Governor stated that the bill was requested by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) to extend the agency’s Systems Modernization Project (SMP) account (video).
See the ceremony’s official photo.