WA Legislature - Update
(February 11, 2025)

WA Legislature - Update (February 11, 2025) - Takeaways

Retail advertising concerns drew out public health and prevention representatives, two new bills were staged for introduction, and legislation to clarify authority over testing labs may be moved on Tuesday.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Tuesday February 11th, the 30th day of the 2025 regular session.

My top 4 takeaways:

  • Also on Monday, the Washington State House Community Safety Committee (WA House CS) heard divergent testimony on legislation aiming to extend imprisonment for individuals convicted of  organized retail theft.
    • HB 1276 - Organized Retail Theft Sentencing Enhancement
      • Prime sponsor Representative Mari Leavitt, a Democrat, introduced legislation to increase the maximum sentencing range for individuals convicted of organized retail theft in possession of substantially valued stolen property.
        • Leavitt was initially joined by Minority Whip Dan Griffey, a WA House CS member, before seven additional bipartisan co-sponsors signed on in support.
        • See the bill analysis for more details.  At publication time, a fiscal note was not available.
      • Positions: testifying + not testifying = total (duplicates)
        • Pro: 6 + 165 = 171 (3)
        • Con: 2 + 1 = 3 (0)
        • Other: 1 + 0 = 1 (1)
      • Representatives of retail associations, local jurisdictions, and law enforcement testified in support of the legislation.
        • The Washington State Organized Retail Crime Task Force (WA ORC Task Force) was formed in June 2022 by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General (WA OAG) to "improve coordination and collaboration among law enforcement agencies to address these multi-jurisdictional crimes that endanger employees and cause significant economic harm to our state."  As dramatic cannabis retail thefts began to subside---or at least receive less direction of attention by regional media--the sector and its challenges became less relevant to task force members, who prioritized prosecutable, cross-jurisdictional, repeated thefts of “big box” retail operations with the support of dedicated corporate investigatory staff.
      • Opponents included representatives of defense attorneys and public defenders who pointed to evidence that sentencing enhancements don't actually deter crimes generally or in particular cases; there are existing laws which are more widely applicable and increase sentencing limits more; and that claims by corporate retailers that theft is on the rise are misleading at best and fraudulent in specific cases.
  • Introduction of cannabis event legislation went as planned and two new bills by the same representative were staged for introduction Tuesday.
    • HB 1932 - “Authorizing cannabis consumption in regulated environments.”
      • Cannabis Consumption Events
      • Representative Melanie Morgan introduced legislation that would support the evolution of the Washington state cannabis sector by authorizing strictly regulated events where social consumption of cannabis was allowed.
      • Morgan was initially joined by a bipartisan group of five co-sponsors, and five additional co-sponsors signed on throughout the day: Representative Julia Reed, Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, Representative Tarra Simmons, Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) Chair Timm Ormsby, and Representative Shaun Scott.
      • The bill was referred to WA House CPB as planned.  At publication time, a public hearing on the legislation had not been announced.
    • HB 1940 - "Concerning the cannabis industry."
      • Out of State Ownership plus Social Equity Tax Preference
      • On Tuesday, Morgan planned to introduce a new bill seeking to allow out of state ownership while also creating a five year business and occupation (B&O) tax break for operational social equity licensees.
        • Representatives of social equity interests traditionally opposed changes to out of state ownership law, expecting their businesses would not benefit from the influx of capital projected by larger operators.
        • Section 4 of the bill text would exempt social equity producers, processors, or retailers from the entire chapter on the B&O tax (RCW 82.04) “for the five years beginning after the licensee exceeds $5,000 in sales revenues.”
        • Section 5 lays out the legislative intent for the tax preference, which would eventually be reviewed by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC), potentially adding to the fiscal note.
    • HB 1941 - "Authorizing agricultural cooperatives for cannabis producers."
      • Cannabis Agricultural Cooperatives
      • Morgan also planned to introduce legislation which would enable cannabis producers to form agricultural processing and marketing associations as defined in RCW 24.34 and often structured as cooperatives.
        • The bill text creatively injects “licensed cannabis producers” into the list of entities allowed to organize associations by noting, “For purposes of this section only and only with respect to licensed cannabis producers, cannabis is considered an agricultural product like other covered agricultural products.”
      • Notably, the legislation was planned for referral to the Washington State House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (WA House AGNR) where Morgan was positioned as Vice Chair supporting Chair Kristine Reeves.  It would be the first cannabis-related bill referred to that committee this biennium.
    • The draft introduction reports in the House and the Senate for Tuesday February 11th did not appear to include additional cannabis-related legislation.
  • On Tuesday, the Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB) planned to consider advancing legislation clarifying the relationship between Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) accreditation and WSLCB certification of private cannabis testing laboratories.
    • 1:30pm: WA House CPB - Committee Meeting [ Event Details ]
      • Executive Session
        • HB 1347 - WSLCB Lab Certification Authority
          • Representative Kristine Reeves introduced legislation intended to more clearly tie WSDA accreditation to WSLCB certification of private cannabis testing labs while not limiting the latter agency’s subsequent enforcement responsibilities.
          • During the public hearing on Tuesday January 28th, WACA Deputy Director Brooke Davies spoke in support of the legislation before WACA member and Treeline Analytics Owner Thomas Hubbell explained his business concerns.  Confidence Analytics Program Manager Lara Kaminsky also testified in support, and suggested changes to clarify the intent of the bill.
          • At publication time, no amendments on the legislation had been published.
        • HB 1449 - Cannabis Home Grow
    • Also on Tuesday, the House planned to convene a pro forma floor session at 9:55am [ TVW ] and the Senate planned to convene a pro forma floor session at 12:30pm [ TVW ].
      • In the House, HB 1066 (WSLCB Data Dashboard) was positioned on the second reading calendar for further action by the chamber, but no legislation would be considered during the pro forma session.