Washington State Legislature - Executive Actions (May 3, 2019) - Summary

Five cannabis-related bills have been signed into law while six others have been delivered to the Governor and await executive action.

Washington’s regular legislative session adjourned sine die on Sunday April 28th. A special legislative session is unlikely to be called by Governor Jay Inslee as the budget was passed.

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. We’ve continued to track eleven cannabis-related bills passed by the legislature which have been either signed into law by the Governor or await executive action within 20 days of session adjournment. Should the Governor take no action within this time, the bill becomes law without a signature. The Office of the Governor’s bill action page lists scheduled executive actions and actions previously taken.

Here are some observations of the eleven cannabis-related bills signed into law or on the Governor’s desk.

Five bills have 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.

Six bills have been delivered to the Governor and await executive action.
- SB 5298 – “Regarding labeling of marijuana products.”
  - See Cannabis Observer’s summaries of the committee report cutoff, opposite house cutoff, and sine die cutoff.
  - On Thursday April 25th, the Speaker of the House signed the legislation.
  - On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor 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.
  - On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor 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.
  - On Friday April 26th, the Senate concurred with the House’s revised amendments and passed the legislation with 30 yeas, 15 nays, 3 absent, and 1 excused.
  - On Saturday April 27th, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House signed the bill.
  - On Monday April 29th, the bill was delivered to the Governor for executive action by May 23rd. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature and the Final Bill Report.
- 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.
  - On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor 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.
  - On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor 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.
  - On Thursday April 25th, the Senate President signed the bill. Read the Bill as Passed Legislature.
  - On Friday April 26th, the bill was delivered to the Governor for executive action by May 20th.
These pieces of legislation were subsequently signed by the governor on May 7th and May 13th, 2019.