WA Legislature - Update
(January 29, 2024)

Four cannabis-related bills were up for action Monday ahead of the first policy committee deadline Wednesday as legislators geared up for the sprint to house of origin cutoff.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Monday January 29th, the 22nd day of the 2024 regular session.

My top 3 takeaways:

• On Wednesday, the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) would mark the House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff before finance committees took up their work in earnest during the latter half of the week into the weekend.
  • The first gateway that most cannabis bills must be shepherded through would occur on Wednesday and was described as the "Last day to read in committee reports (pass bills out of committee and read them into the record on the floor) in house of origin, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.”
  • Legislation can be declared "necessary to implement budgets" (NTIB), an informal procedure leadership can exercise around any bill with a fiscal impact. The criteria for NTIB status and the decision making around the designation hadn’t been set in law or rule, allowing for a bypass of the cutoff calendar which is otherwise agreed to by both chambers through the legislative process.
  • 42 of 44 cannabis-related bills tracked by Cannabis Observer remained technically active at publication time.  11 bills appeared at risk in policy committees in the House and three in the Senate.
    • HB 1083 - “Concerning terms of payment for cannabis retailers.”
    • HB 1341 - “Concerning cannabis license ownership.”
    • HB 1581 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
    • HB 1595 - “Modifying the cannabis excise tax.”
    • HB 1612 - “Concerning the regulation of products containing THC.”
    • HB 1641 - “Addressing public health challenges of high-potency cannabis products.”
    • HB 1642 - “Regulating the sale of cannabis concentrates.”
    • HB 1802 - “Concerning minors in possession of alcohol, cannabis, or controlled substances.”
    • HB 2047 - “Allowing employers to screen candidates for cannabis use when hiring for certain positions involving services to persons with substance use disorder.”
    • HB 2233 - “Providing an appropriate response to the use and presence of controlled substances by parents to protect children.”
    • HB 2334 - “Transferring certain cannabis licensing activities to the department of agriculture.”
    • SB 6077 - “Regulating hemp in food.”
    • SB 6209 - “Concerning hemp consumable products.”
    • SB 6217 - “Deterring robberies from retail establishments.”
  • Finance committees in both chambers had already been convening to consider legislation and would redouble their efforts after Wednesday in the sprint to the House of Origin Finance Committee Cutoff on Monday February 5th.

• On Saturday January 27th, fiscal committee hearings and executive sessions in the House were added on bills to establish popular control over local cannabis business prohibitions and a shift of responsibility for private testing lab accreditation to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).
  • HB 1650 - “Requiring voter approval for local government prohibitions on cannabis businesses.”
    • [ Register Position ]
    • Heard on January 9th, a bill to make cannabis business bans the purview of voters rather than their elected officials drew pushback from local government interests and support from an industry stakeholder.
      • Lobbyists for counties and cities arrayed against the bill along with elected officials who downplayed increased revenue promises, overplayed election costs, and even summoned the ghost of the “gateway drug” theory of substance use escalation.
      • The Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Caitlein Ryan was the sole individual to testify in support of the legislation, pointing out that State legalization had required citizens to use the initiative process to override the inaction and opposition of elected officials, and retail sales remained prohibited in some jurisdictions where the popular vote supported Initiative 502.
    • On Thursday January 18th, Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) members adopted a proposed substitute by Co-Chair Sharon Wylie. As in the 2023 policy committee vote, representatives hewed to party lines enabling the democratic majority to recommend the legislation out of committee.
    • A revised fiscal note published on Friday January 26th by staff at the Washington State Department of Commerce (WA Commerce) included details on projected costs and indeterminate revenue impacts.
  • HB 2151 - “Reassigning the accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories from the department of ecology to the department of agriculture.”
    • [ Register Position ]
    • Heard on Monday January 15th in WA House RSG, legislation to alter a planned transfer of cannabis lab accreditation authority was broadly praised by the sponsor, agency leaders, and cannabis sector stakeholders.
    • During the policy committee executive session, an amendment by prime sponsor Representative Kristine Reeves was incorporated which would remove statutory language requiring failing lots to be destroyed, a concern raised by Cannabis Alliance Executive Director Ryan in testimony. The legislation was recommended unanimously out of the committee.
    • A fiscal note on the revised legislation was published on Friday January 26th.
  • Public hearings on both bills were scheduled for Thursday February 1st and executive sessions on Saturday February 3rd in the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP).

• On Monday, senators planned to host a hearing on legislation to address retail robberies before the House cannabis policy committee convened to potentially amend and move three cannabis bills in what may be their last meeting before the first cutoff.
  • 10:30am: WA Senate LAW - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
    • Public Hearing
      • SB 6133 - “Deterring robberies from cannabis retail establishments.”
        • [ Register Position ]
        • Introduced on January 10th by Senator Jim McCune and referred to the Washington State Senate Law and Justice Committee (WA Senate Law), members planned to try to squeeze in a public hearing on Monday and executive session on Tuesday January 30th ahead of the policy committee deadline on Wednesday.
        • McCune’s more generally applicable legislation, SB 6217, had not received committee attention at publication time.
  • 1:30pm: WA House RSG - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
    • Executive Session
      • HB 2182 - “Creating a data dashboard to track use of regulated substances.”
        • Heard on January 16th, testimony on legislation to require the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) to set up a data dashboard was largely supportive with some calls for additional data or formatting changes.
        • While an executive session on the bill had been provisionally scheduled for Tuesday January 23rd, the legislation was removed from the committee schedule the day before.
        • At publication time, no potential amendments to the legislation had been published.
      • HB 2194 - “Legalizing the home cultivation of cannabis.”
        • Heard on January 16th, lawmaker questions focused on potential risks and negative outcomes during mostly supportive testimony on 2024 cannabis home growing legislation.
        • At their January 22nd meeting, members were briefed on two amendments by Representative Greg Cheney and caucused on the bill, but committee leadership opted to defer taking action on the legislation at that time.
        • At publication time, Cheney’s amendments remained positioned for consideration.
      • HB 2320 - “Concerning high THC cannabis products.”
        • Also heard on January 16th, members learned about intentions to raise the minimum age of purchase on cannabis concentrates to 25, fund additional educational resources, and require the development and evaluation of “interventions.” Those measures received support from prevention groups and researchers but the higher age gate and questionable claims in the bill’s intent language evoked opposition from cannabis stakeholders.
        • While an executive session on the legislation had been planned for Thursday January 25th, after the hearing on the companion legislation in the Senate on Monday January 22nd—and the late publication of a more complete fiscal note—House staff announced the session had been removed.
        • At publication time, no potential amendments to the legislation had been published.  However, it was Cannabis Observer’s understanding that an unseen striking amendment may be proposed.
    • At publication time, WA House RSG members had not scheduled a committee meeting for Tuesday January 30th—their last opportunity to convene ahead of the House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff—signaling their actions on Monday could constitute the extent of the House legislation they planned to recommend.