Senators in the Transportation Committee heard sobering testimony about impaired driving on Thursday, and Friday would not feature any cannabis-related policymaking activity, halfway to the first cutoff.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Friday January 31st, the 19th day of the 2025 regular session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- On Thursday, Washington State Senate Transportation Committee (WA Senate TRAN) members learned more about impaired driving before hosting a public hearing on the agency request version of the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit and driving under the influence (DUI) bill.
- SB 5067 - Alcohol BAC Limit and DUI
- The legislation focused on lowering the BAC limit to 0.05, informing the public about the change, and a study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) which would likely be inclusive of data on impaired driving more broadly.
- See the WA Senate LAW bill report, the WA Senate TRAN bill analysis, and final fiscal note for more details.
- WA Senate TRAN was the second policy committee to consider the legislation in that chamber.
- Before the hearing, members convened a work session to learn about "Impaired driving impacts" from experts and families who had lost loved ones to drunk drivers.
- NORC Principal Research Scientist James Fell provided data-oriented national and international perspectives while reviewing “Countermeasures That Reduce Impaired Driving” and Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) External Relations Director Mark McKechnie briefed members on related data from Washington state (presentation).
- During his contextualizing of data about polysubstance impaired drivers, McKechnie acknowledged that “certainly cannabis is one of the common ones but we also see anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, pain medication, and others that interact with alcohol as well.”
- NORC Principal Research Scientist James Fell provided data-oriented national and international perspectives while reviewing “Countermeasures That Reduce Impaired Driving” and Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) External Relations Director Mark McKechnie briefed members on related data from Washington state (presentation).
- Positions: testifying + not testifying = total (duplicates)
- Pro: 17 + 70 = 87 (4)
- Con: 6 + 162 = 168 (9)
- Other: 1 + 0 = 1 (0)
- The legislation focused on lowering the BAC limit to 0.05, informing the public about the change, and a study by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) which would likely be inclusive of data on impaired driving more broadly.
- SB 5067 - Alcohol BAC Limit and DUI
- No new cannabis-related bills were introduced on Thursday, and none were staged for introduction on Friday, halfway to the House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff.
- The draft introduction reports in the House and the Senate for Friday January 31st did not appear to include any cannabis-related legislation.
- At publication time, there were 12 cannabis-related bills active in the House and five in the Senate. In addition, Cannabis Observer was tracking four budget bills and six cannabis-adjacent bills related to criminal justice or behavioral health topics.
- By way of contrast, Cannabis Observer tracked 54 cannabis-related bills throughout the entire 2023-24 biennium
- Friday marked the halfway point to the House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff on Friday February 21st.
- No cannabis-related bills were scheduled for action on Friday, although adjacent activity on tobacco regulation, vapor products, and “sustainable agriculture” could be of relevance.
- The Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB) would be hosting hearings at 8am on two bills seeking to substantially revise regulation of nicotine and vapor products [ TVW ].
- The Washington State House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (WA House AGNR) planned to host a work session at 10:30am on “Sustainable Agriculture” [ TVW ].
- On Friday, the House would convene a pro forma floor session at 9:55am [ TVW ] and the Senate planned to convene a floor session at 12:30pm [ TVW ].