Licensing provided recommendations for retailers in ban and moratorium areas and detailed license forfeiture rules.
Here are some observations from the Wednesday March 7th Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Executive Management Team meeting.
My top 3 takeaways:
- Licensing and Regulation Director Becky Smith presented the Board with the WSLCB’s recommendation for relief for retailers in ban and moratorium areas. The 65 retail licensees in ban or moratorium areas or otherwise restricted from opening due to local zoning regulations would be offered a Title Certificate which could be redeemed for a license at a later date if local conditions change. The Certificate would be valid for three years and could be sold, but would only be valid for licensure within the jurisdiction of original issuance. Retailers with Certificates will no longer have to comply with the requirements of licensure including property management, traceability fees, insurance, power, etc. The Board accepted this recommendation which will be brought to a future Board Meeting as an Interim Policy at the same time as a CR-101 is filed to institute the policy into rule. Here’s a link to that section of the transcript and a link to the audio recording of that segment of the meeting.
- Becky Smith also updated the Board on the implementation of WLSCB’s license forfeiture rules. The Board decided a supplemental CR-102 is necessary to bring the proposed license forfeiture rules into line with Representative Condotta’s statute responding to concerns his office voiced in writing to the WSLCB. The CR-102 will be filed the same day as the public hearing (Mar 21), pushing the effective date back one month into June. 18 retail licensees currently meet the criteria for license forfeiture. Here’s a link to that section of the transcript and a link to the audio recording of that segment of the meeting.
- Board Member Ollie Garrett announced that she was considering canceling or delaying the scheduled Cannabis Advisory Council meeting (Mar 14). The WSLCB did not receive any feedback from CAC members when first suggesting and asking for proposed agenda items last week, and received one suggested item after following up today. The Board discussed convening another meeting about traceability system issues instead. Here’s a link to that section of the transcript and a link to the audio recording of that segment of the meeting.