The Week Ahead
(February 17, 2024)

WA Legislature - House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff (February 21, 2025)

Eight cannabis-related bills were scheduled for hearings and six potential executive sessions were planned in the week before the House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff.

Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.

Monday February 17th

The State of Washington recognizes the Presidents’ Day holiday.  See the WA Legislature Update for Monday February 17th for more details on the day’s events.

WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.

WA House CS - Committee Meeting

On Monday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Community Safety Committee (WA House CS) was scheduled to convene.

Tuesday February 18th

WSLCB - Board Caucus

On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • During the caucus on Tuesday February 11th, Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Webster provided an update covering a large number of specific cannabis bills.
  • On Tuesday, the board was scheduled to receive another update from Webster.

WA House AGNR - Committee Meeting

On Tuesday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (WA House AGNR) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • HB 1941 - Cannabis Producer Cooperatives
      • Representative Melanie Morgan introduced legislation which would enable cannabis producers to form agricultural processing and marketing associations as defined in RCW 24.34, entities often structured as cooperatives.
      • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.

WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting

On Tuesday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • SB 5201 - Psilocybin Services
    • SB 5758 - Social Equity Buffer Zones
      • Scheduled for introduction on Monday by Senator Rebecca Saldaña, the legislation as written would create less restrictive buffer zones for licenses issued under the cannabis social equity program in RCW 69.50.335(1).
      • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.
  • Executive Session
    • SB 5206 - Cannabis Retailer Advertising
      • Republican Deputy Leader Drew MacEwen introduced a reprise of his 2023-24 bill SB 5363 which was not advanced by representatives prior to the opposite house cutoff in 2024.  The bill would change requirements for retail signage and transfer authority over trade name signs from the WSLCB to local jurisdictions.
      • During the public hearing in WA Senate LC on Monday February 10th, cannabis sector interests presented an uncharacteristically unified message of support for the legislation.  The measure was resisted by public health and prevention representatives who framed the measure as increasing retail advertising, overburdening local jurisdictions, and threatening normalization of cannabis retailers as legitimate businesses in communities.
      • At publication time, no potential amendments on the legislation had been published.

WSU CCPRO - Cannabis Research Seminar

On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State University Center for Cannabis Policy, Research, and Outreach (WSU CCPRO) planned to host a Cannabis Research Seminar.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • WSU CCPRO Director David Gang planned to lecture on "Expanding the NPGS Collection to Support Hemp Industry Development."

Wednesday February 19th

WA House CPB - Committee Meeting

On Wednesday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • HB 1835 - Local Override of State Cannabis Licensing
      • Assistant Minority Whip Brian Burnett introduced legislation that would allow elected officials of local jurisdictions and federally recognized tribes to override WSLCB cannabis business licensing decisions with a written objection stating the decision would conflict with local zoning ordinances.
        • Additionally, the revised language would provide more weight to claims that a local cannabis business was expected to be the site of “illegal activity,” expanding on the more limited scope of the current statutory definition of “chronic illegal activity” by making it inclusive of any civil law violations.
      • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.
    • HB 1884 - WSLCB Enforcement Priorities
      • Representative Kevin Waters introduced legislation which would call upon the WSLCB to work collaboratively with cannabis sector stakeholders to review rules and significantly revamp enforcement priorities to focus on preventing youth access and inversion/diversion.
      • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.
    • HB 1940 - Out of State Ownership + Social Equity Tax Preference
      • Representative Melanie Morgan introduced legislation 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.
      • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.

Thursday February 20th

WA Senate LAW - Committee Meeting

On Thursday at 10:30am PT, the Washington State Senate Law and Justice Committee (WA Senate LAW) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Executive Session
    • SB 5290 - Pre-Hearing SUD Treatment
      • Senator Jesse Salomon introduced cannabis-adjacent criminal justice and behavioral health legislation to create incentives to pursue substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for dismissal of certain drug possession charges.
        • Salomon, a former public defender, described his legislation as a renewed effort to create “treatment off ramps” which had been compromised out of SB 5536, the “Blake fix” bill passed during a special session in May 2023.  Diversion of cases regarding minor possession or public drug use had been left to the discretion of prosecutors, and Salomon sought to also give judges the ability to refer people to State-certified treatment programs.
        • See the bill report and fiscal note for more details.
      • In testimony during the public hearing on January 28th, a representative of the Washington Defender Association (WDA) and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) supported the legislation, while representatives of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (WAPA) and the Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association (WSNIA) opposed the bill.
      • The legislation had been scheduled for consideration during the January 30th meeting of WA Senate LAW, but was removed from the list of potential executive sessions after the hearing.
      • At publication time, no potential amendments on the legislation had been published.

Friday February 21st

WA House CPB - Committee Meeting

On Friday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Consumer Protection and Business Committee (WA House CPB) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • HB 1932 - 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.
        • See Cannabis Observer’s analysis of the legislation for more details.  At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.
  • Executive Session
    • HB 1348 - Cannabis ESOPs
      • Representative David Hackney introduced legislation regarding employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) specific to the cannabis sector, clarifying legislation sought by the Washington CannaBusiness Association (WACA) after WSLCB staff withdrew the ESOPs rulemaking project in December.
      • During the public hearing on February 4th, WACA representatives and members testified in support of the legislation which was framed as a more equitable business structure actively encouraged by the State within other sectors.  Opponents spoke out against ESOPs, which were anticipated to only be affordable business structures for the largest entities in the cannabis sector as well as a means of skirting true party of interest (TPI) vetting and residency requirements for out of state “trustees” of the ESOP.
      • An executive session on the legislation had been planned for February 12th and WA House CPB Chair Amy Walen filed an amendment to address the residency loophole, but consideration of the bill was deferred.
      • At publication time, no potential amendments on the legislation had been published.

WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting

On Friday at 8am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Public Hearing
    • SGA 9188 - Jim Vollendroff
      • WA Senate LC members were scheduled to weigh the merits of recommending the confirmation of the gubernatorial appointment of WSLCB Chair Jim Vollendroff.
  • Executive Session
    • SGA 9188 - Jim Vollendroff
    • SB 5206 - Cannabis Retailer Advertising
      • Previously scheduled for Friday, the potential executive session on the advertising bill was moved up to the WA Senate LC meeting on Tuesday.
    • SB 5700 - DOH Patient Data Sharing
    • SB 5403 - Cannabis Direct Sales
    • SB 5758 - Social Equity Buffer Zones
      • Scheduled for introduction on Monday by Senator Rebecca Saldaña and a public hearing on Tuesday, the legislation as written would create less restrictive buffer zones for licenses issued under the cannabis social equity program in RCW 69.50.335(1).
        • At publication time, neither a bill analysis nor fiscal note were available.
      • At publication time, no potential amendments on the legislation had been published.

WA Pharmacy Commission - Legislative Review

On Friday at 12pm PT, the weekly Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission (WA Pharmacy Commission) Legislative Review was scheduled to recur.

WA Legislature - House of Origin Policy Committee Cutoff

On Friday at close of business, the WA Legislature would achieve the first cutoff gateway.

  • Legislation must be heard, potentially amended, recommended, and a policy committee report read during a chamber floor session before the close of business Friday to continue beyond the first cutoff gateway of the 2025 regular session.
    • There are exceptions.  Legislation can be designated “necessary to implement budgets” (NTIB) by chamber leaders to exempt it from the regular rules of order, loosely interpreted to mean a bill has been projected to have a measurable fiscal impact.
    • See the Cannabis Observer 2025-26 biennium landing screen for a complete list of cannabis-related and -adjacent legislation being tracked.
  • The next gateway, the House of Origin Fiscal Committee Cutoff, would occur on Friday February 28th.

Saturday February 22nd

WA House APP - Committee Meeting

On Saturday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.

  • In anticipation of a backlog of legislation which the committee could consider before the fiscal committee cutoff, WA House APP leadership added a Saturday meeting and began to schedule bills for consideration.
  • At publication time, no cannabis-related nor adjacent legislation had been referred to WA House APP.