Leadership went over the first legislative briefing of 2024, including active bills and possible amendments, then heard about social equity applicants, education, staffing, and tribal updates.
Legislation on hemp extract as a food ingredient and a bill to shift authority from WSLCB to WSDA were ready for introduction, and substance use penalty language caught our attention.
Co-sponsors flocked to new legislation, WSLCB leadership discussed two active bills, a new high-THC bill was readied, and committee schedules for the following week were published.
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.
Cannabis waste legislation was advanced, another hemp bill may be on the way, the first cannabis-related bills were heard, and two new bills were scheduled for introduction.
Lawmakers reintroduced 2023 legislation, nudging one cannabis bill forward, and planned to introduce expansive new hemp processor legislation before hearing three cannabis-related bills.
A rules update acknowledged more delays in some projects before public comments showed a divide on the fairness of social equity licensing and questioned cannabis research topics.
The published calendar for the first week of the 2024 regular session appeared relatively light on cannabis-related activity, but schedules can change quickly and regulatory activity continued.
Two new cannabis bills were pre-filed Friday, two existing bills were pushed back in the process, and the draft cutoff calendar was published ahead of the start of the regular session on Monday.
As legislators made final preparations for the 2024 session starting on Monday, policy and budget bills had been pre-filed and committee schedules were being shaped.
