The Week Ahead
(April 3, 2023)

William Rimmer - Evening, the Fall of Day - Cannabinoid Hemp - Swan Song

Regular committee work would draw to a close on Tuesday with the fiscal committee cutoff, and three significant cannabis bills remained at risk including THC and social equity legislation.

Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.

Monday April 3rd

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 9am PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

WA Senate - Session

On Monday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene a pro forma session.

WA House - Session

On Monday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • At publication time, there were no cannabis-related bills calendared for activity in the House.

WA House RUL - Committee Meeting

On Monday after the WA House session, the Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL) planned to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • On Friday March 31st, WA House Deputy Chief Clerk Melissa Palmer announced, “The Speaker has scheduled a House Rules Committee meeting for Monday, April 3, 2023 in the Rules Room immediately following the adjournment of the House’s floor session on Monday.”
  • In contrast to their peer committee in the Senate, members of the WA House RUL had met infrequently (if at all) during the 2023 regular session, democratic leadership opting instead to pull packages of bills to the chamber floor with the consent of the body.
  • Four cannabis-related bills could be calendared:
    • SB 5069 - “Allowing interstate cannabis agreements.”
    • SB 5340 - “Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products.”
    • SB 5363 - “Concerning cannabis retailer advertising.”
    • SB 5405 - “Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority.”
  • At publication time, TVW had not signaled their intent to broadcast the proceedings.

Tuesday April 4th

WA Legislature - Opposite House Fiscal Committee Cutoff

On Tuesday, the Washington State Legislature would mark the next cutoff gateway signifying the end of regular fiscal committee work.

  • The cutoff was described as the “Last day to read in opposite house 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.”
  • After Tuesday, each chamber would have until Wednesday April 12th at 5pm PT to consider moving their peers’ legislation by regular means.

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Tuesday at 9am PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • At publication time, there were no cannabis-related bills scheduled for activity during the last WA House APP meeting on the same day as the opposite house fiscal committee cutoff.
  • Besides the WSLCB THC legislation, two other cannabis bills remained in committee:
    • SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
      • Heard by the committee members on Thursday March 30th, the social equity bill had been scheduled for an executive session on Saturday April 1st. However, Chair Timm Ormsby was not joking on April Fools Day when he announced the committee would defer action on the legislation (audio < 1m).
      • At publication time, SB 5080 had not been rescheduled for an executive session.
    • SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
      • After a lengthy journey fraught with compromise, WA House APP members had not scheduled the cannabis commodity commission framework for a public hearing at publication time.

WA Senate - Session

On Tuesday at 9:30am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene a pro forma session.

WA House - Session

On Tuesday at 9:55am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene a pro forma session.

WSLCB - Board Caucus

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

Wednesday April 5th

WA Senate - Session

On Wednesday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.

WA House - Session

On Wednesday at 10am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.

Thursday April 6th

WA House - Session

On Thursday at 9am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.

WA Senate - Session

On Thursday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.

WSLCB - Work Group - Cannabinoid Science - Public Meeting

On Thursday at 1pm PT, the WSLCB Cannabinoid Science Work Group (WSLCB - Work Group - Cannabinoid Science) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Members last convened on February 1st to discuss the term ‘cannabinoid’ and seek consensus on the group focus and scope of work.
  • In advance of the Thursday meeting, several relevant items of academic and research literature were publicly shared including a “A Synopsis of Recent Lab Findings” on the chemical analysis of synthesized cannabinoids by one of the work group members.

Friday April 7th

WA House - Session

On Friday at 9am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.

WA Senate - Session

On Friday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.

WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee - Public Meeting

On Friday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission Legislative Committee (WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee) was scheduled to convene their weekly public meeting.

Saturday April 8th

WA House - Session

On Saturday at 9am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.

WA Senate - Session

On Saturday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.