Home grow and direct sales bills were set for introduction, data dashboard legislation may be advanced, and officials would lead a work session on impaired driving before a public hearing in the House.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Tuesday January 21st, the 9th day of the 2025 regular session.
My top 2 takeaways:
- Introductions of legislation went as planned on Monday while home grow and limited direct sales bills were readied for Tuesday.
- HB 1410 - “Concerning the suspension of inactive cannabis producer licenses.”
- Inactive Production License Suspension
- On Monday, Representative Sam Low introduced legislation requiring the WSLCB to suspend producer licenses which showed no business activity between July 2023 and December 2024, predicating re-issuance upon interstate commerce. The bill was referred to the Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB) where a public hearing had not been announced by publication time.
- HB 1449 - “Legalizing the home cultivation of cannabis by persons who are 21 years of age and older.”
- Cannabis Home Grow
- On Tuesday, Representatives Shelley Kloba and Brandy Donaghy planned to introduce legislation to allow an adult to grow six cannabis plants (combined up to 15 per ‘housing unit’) while establishing parameters and penalties around the practice.
- According to the draft introduction report, the bill was planned for referral to the WA House CPB where both Kloba and Donaghy were members during the pro forma chamber floor session scheduled to begin at 9:55am [ TVW ].
- SB 5403 - “Allowing direct to consumer sales of certain cannabis products.”
- Cannabis Direct Sales
- Senator Rebecca Saldaña planned to introduce succinct legislation which would authorize limited farm gate sales by cannabis producers to sell flower directly to consumers. Eligible products would be constrained to:
- “cannabis flower produced and processed by the licensee at the licensee's licensed location” sold in compliance with the retailer statute RCW 69.50.360
- Or: “cannabis flower produced within the licensed business entity” and likewise complying with retailer requirements
- According to the draft introduction report, the bill was planned for referral to the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) which Saldaña chairs during the pro forma chamber floor session scheduled to begin at 12:30pm [ TVW ].
- At publication time, the WA Senate LC—the primary cannabis policy committee in the Senate—had yet to take up a cannabis bill. However, SB 5403 would only be the second cannabis-related bill introduced in the Senate in 2025, the other being SB 5206, Senator Drew MacEwen’s cannabis retailer advertising bill which had also been referred to WA Senate LC.
- HB 1410 - “Concerning the suspension of inactive cannabis producer licenses.”
- On Tuesday, representatives would consider recommending the data dashboard bill out of committee and hear the House version of impaired driving legislation.
- 1:30pm: WA House CPB - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- HB 1066 - WSLCB Data Dashboard
- On Tuesday January 14th, WA House CPB members hosted a public hearing on the legislation which saw cannabis sector, public health, and prevention interests unified in their support for more transparent reporting of data collected by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) and other agencies.
- At publication time, there were no amendments on the bill.
- HB 1066 - WSLCB Data Dashboard
- Executive Session
- 4pm: WA House CS - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- HB 1315 - Alcohol BAC Limit and DUI
- Technically not a companion to SB 5067, the hearing on Representative Donaghy’s version of the blood alcohol content (BAC) bill in the Washington State House Community Safety Committee (WA House CS) would be prefaced by a work session titled, “Considering policy options for modifying the blood alcohol concentration threshold for impaired driving." Officials from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), Washington State Patrol (WSP), and the University of Washington (UW) were scheduled to speak and offer presentations.
- At publication time, the legislation remained focused on lowering the BAC limit to 0.05, informing the public, and a study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) which would likely be inclusive of data on impaired driving more broadly. During the executive session on SB 5067 in the Senate, a Democrat leader stated her intention to keep that bill narrowly focused on lowering the alcohol BAC limit after encountering challenges advancing more ambitious legislation.
- SB 5067 was referred to the Washington State Senate Transportation Committee (WA Senate TRAN) for additional policy review. At publication time, a public hearing on the bill had not been announced.
- HB 1315 - Alcohol BAC Limit and DUI
- Public Hearing
- 1:30pm: WA House CPB - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]