11 cannabis-related bills remained subject to the next cutoff on Wednesday but the WSLCB data dashboard bill and inversion/diversion legislation were particularly poorly positioned.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday February 19th
See our Washington State Legislature Update for details on the eight cannabis-related bills positioned for committee consideration.
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.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- Executive Session
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
On Monday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
- Executive Session
WA House APP - Committee Meeting
On Monday at 4pm PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- HB 2104 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.”
WA Senate WM - Committee Meeting
On Monday at 4pm PT, the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- SB 5950 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.”
Tuesday February 20th
WSLCB - Board Caucus
The weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was cancelled.
- [ Event Details ]
WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday at 10:30am PT, the WA Senate LC was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- HB 2151 - “Reassigning the accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories from the department of ecology to the department of agriculture.”
WA House CSJR - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State House Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee (WA House CSJR) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- SB 6133 - “Deterring robberies from cannabis retail establishments.”
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the WA House RSG was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
Wednesday February 21st
WA Senate WM - Committee Meeting
On Wednesday at 3pm PT, the WA Senate WM was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- SB 5950 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.”
WA House APP - Committee Meeting
On Wednesday at 4pm PT, the WA House APP was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- HB 2104 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.”
WA Legislature - Opposite House Policy Committee Cutoff
On Wednesday, the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) would mark the Opposite House Policy Committee Cutoff deadline.
- [ Cutoff Calendar ]
- The fourth gateway that most cannabis bills must be shepherded through would occur on Wednesday and was described as the “Last day to read in committee reports (pass bills out of committee and read them into the record on the floor) from opposite house, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.”
- Legislation can be declared "necessary to implement budgets" (NTIB), an informal procedure leadership can exercise around any bill with a fiscal impact. The criteria for NTIB status and the decision making around the designation hadn’t been set in law or rule, allowing for a bypass of the cutoff calendar which is otherwise agreed to by both chambers through the legislative process.
- At publication time, 11 cannabis-related bills appeared at risk, having not been recommended by chamber policy committees:
- HB 1453 - "Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients."
- HB 2151 - "Reassigning the accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories from the department of ecology to the department of agriculture."
- HB 2182 - "Creating a data dashboard to track use of regulated substances."
- At publication time, neither a public hearing nor executive session had been scheduled on this legislation in WA Senate LC.
- HB 2255 - "Concerning inversion and diversion of cannabis."
- At publication time, neither a public hearing nor executive session had been scheduled on this legislation in WA Senate LC.
- HB 2320 - "Concerning high THC cannabis products."
- SB 5340 - "Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products."
- At publication time, an executive session had not been scheduled on this legislation in WA House RSG. But the substantively identical companion legislation HB 1249 had already been referred to the Washington State Senate Rules Committee for calendaring.
- SB 5363 - "Concerning cannabis retailer advertising."
- SB 5376 - "Allowing the sale of cannabis waste."
- SB 5546 - "Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission."
- SB 6133 - "Deterring robberies from cannabis retail establishments."
- SB 6271 - "Modifying the cannabis excise tax to consider THC concentration."
- For the remainder of the week into the weekend, both chambers would convene fiscal committee meetings to consider, debate, amend, and recommend legislation before the Opposite House Fiscal Committee Cutoff the following week on Monday February 26th.
Thursday February 22nd
On Thursday, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene at 1:30pm PT and the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) was scheduled to convene at 1:30pm PT.
The Cannabis Alliance - Town Hall - Social Consumption
On Thursday at 4pm PT, The Cannabis Alliance planned to convene a town hall event inclusive of State legislators and regulators on the subject of social consumption of cannabis.
- [ Event Details ]
- While the Alliance is a membership-based non-profit organization, Cannabis Observer works in coordination with private entities that host events featuring public officials acting in their official capacities to document cannabis policymaking information of relevance.
- It’s Cannabis Observer’s understanding that multiple State legislators were scheduled to sit as panelists during the event.
Friday February 23rd
On Friday, the WA House APP was scheduled to convene at 1:30pm PT and the WA Senate WM was scheduled to convene at 1:30pm PT.
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.
- [ Event Details ]
Saturday February 24th
On Saturday, the WA House was scheduled to convene throughout the day starting at 9am PT and the WA Senate WM was scheduled to convene at 9am PT.
Sunday February 25th
At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.