The Week Ahead
(March 21, 2022)

Social Equity Program Rulemaking - The Cannabis Alliance Legislative Roundtable Webinar

WSLCB staff would accept feedback on the upcoming social equity retail licensure window and the Cannabis Alliance planned to host leading legislators to discuss what happened in 2022.

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

Monday March 21st

At publication time, no cannabis-related policymaking events were scheduled.

Tuesday March 22nd

WSLCB - Board Caucus

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

WA HCA - DBHR Listening Session

On Tuesday at 1:30pm PT, the monthly Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA) Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) Behavioral Health Service Provider Listening Session was scheduled to recur.

Wednesday March 23rd

The Cannabis Alliance - Webinar - Legislative Roundtable

On Wednesday at 12pm PT, the Cannabis Alliance Legislative Roundtable Webinar was scheduled to occur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Cannabis Observer documents public events and private events where officials are engaged in their official capacities.
  • Two weeks after the conclusion of the legislative session on March 10th, the Alliance planned to host Senator Karen Keiser, the chair of the Washington State Senate Labor, Commerce, and Tribal Affairs Committee (WA Senate LCTA), and Representative Shelley Kloba, the chair of the Washington State House Commerce and Gaming Committee (WA House COG). WA Senate LCTA and WA House COG were the primary cannabis policy committees in their respective chambers.
  • Kloba was also the prime sponsor of several cannabis bills in 2022, one of which was passed by the legislature:
    • 🔬 HB 1859 - Cannabis Testing Labs (passed)
    • 🌱 HB 1019 - Homegrow
    • ⚕️⚖️ HB 1105 - Arrest Protections for All Medical Cannabis Patients
    • ⚗️ HB 1668 - WSLCB Cannabinoid Regulation
    • ⚗️ HB 2122 - Cannabinoid Regulation; introduced after house of origin cutoff but not moved; the basis for SB 5983
  • Keiser was also the prime sponsor of several cannabis bills in 2022, none of which were passed by the legislature:
    • ⚕️💰 SB 5004 - Excise Tax Exemption for Registered Medical Cannabis Patients
    • 🔬 SB 5517 - Employment Drug Testing for Cannabis
    • ⚗️ SB 5547 - WSLCB Cannabinoid Regulation (companion to HB 1668)
    • ⚗️ SB 5983 - Cannabinoid Regulation and Enforcement; the final vehicle introduced to attempt to determine the future of synthesized cannabinoids in Washington state

WSLCB - Listen and Learn Forum - Social Equity

On Wednesday at 1pm PT, a WSLCB Listen and Learn Forum on the Social Equity rulemaking project was scheduled to occur.

  • [ Event Details, Rulemaking Project ]
  • The event had been previously scheduled for March 16th.
  • The social equity rulemaking project was undertaken by the WSLCB Policy and Rules team in October 2021 in anticipation of receiving recommendations from the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF). While WSLCB staff had identified and reserved 38 retail licenses for a future social equity program as early as January 2021, no action had been taken on distributing those licenses absent a framework in rule. Formal recommendations were issued by the WA SECTF in early January, prompting a counterproposal from WSLCB staff. Months later, the scope of potential social equity rulemaking was clearly proscribed following the failure of HB 2022, “Concerning social equity in the cannabis industry,” to be advanced by legislators nor its goals incorporated into other legislation. After the close of the legislative session, staff announced the listen and learn event to gather structured feedback on draft conceptual rules to establish a WSLCB social equity program.
  • While incorporating some of the WA SECTF recommendations, the draft rules do not rigorously follow them:
    • License “mobility” was recommended and expressed in HB 2022, a desire to lift the strict association between a retail license and the city or county jurisdiction where it was originally allotted. While full mobility would not be authorized, the WSLCB rules as drafted state:
      • (5)(iii) Social equity licenses that are currently designated to specific cities may be located anywhere within the county in which the city is located. However, the license may not be transferred outside of that jurisdiction.
    • Restrictions on license resale would be implemented:
      • (5)(v) Licenses awarded under this section may not be transferred within the first year of the license being issued and may only be transferred to individuals or groups of individuals who comply with the requirements for initial licensure as a social equity applicant for a period of five years from the date of the transfer.
    • As recommended, a location would not need to be identified prior to applying for retail licensure, and furthermore:
      • (5)(i) There are no time restrictions for a social equity applicant to select and secure a location.
    • Residency duration for applicants living in disproportionately impacted areas (DIAs) would comport with existing WSLCB residency restrictions in contrast to WA SECTF recommendations and HB 2022:
      • (3)(a)(i) Qualification 1: The social equity applicant or applicants have lived in a disproportionately impacted area in Washington state for a minimum of six months
    • A “social equity plan” would still be required of applicants. Despite that additional work having been dropped from both WA SECTF recommendations and HB 2022, the requirement remains in the law.

WSLCB - Executive Management Team

On Wednesday at 1:30pm PT, the three-member Board and agency leadership were scheduled to convene their monthly WSLCB Executive Management Team (EMT) meeting.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Regularly scheduled monthly on second Wednesdays, the EMT meeting was rescheduled from March 9th to avoid conflicts during the final days of the 2022 legislative session.

Thursday March 24th

WA PDC - Commission Meeting

On Thursday at 9:30am PT, the monthly Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (WA PDC) Commission Meeting was scheduled to recur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Established 50 years ago, the WA PDC was created by Initiative 276 (the Public Disclosure Act) to provide timely and meaningful public access to accurate information about the financing of political campaigns, lobbyist expenditures, and the financial affairs of public officials and candidates. The commission ensures compliance with and equitable enforcement of Washington's disclosure and campaign finance laws.
  • At Cannabis Observer, we believe transparency is necessary for accountability, and so it is with great enthusiasm that we have begun to leverage the work of the WA PDC to follow the money. We aim to better understand the role of money in politics in Washington state and to surface transactional relationships relevant to cannabis policymaking.
  • As part of that effort, we’re getting to know the five commissioners and their staff; tracking contemporary rulemaking; and keeping an eye on enforcement actions which are far more accessible than what we see at other agencies. We’re also working with the copious amounts of open data published on the WA PDC website and the state open data portal.

WSDA - Webinar - Hemp Production

On Thursday at 1pm PT, a Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) webinar on hemp production was scheduled to occur.

  • [ Event Details ]
  • Announced on March 14th as the application window for hemp production licensure drew to a close on March 31st, the webinar would provide a forum for “any questions you have about the application process and the 2022 growing season.”

Friday March 25th

WA Pharmacy Commission - Public Meeting

On Friday at 9am PT, the Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission (WA Pharmacy Commission) was scheduled to convene.

2022 WA Legislative Session

The short session of the 2021-22 biennium began on January 10th and ended on March 10th.

  • Inactive cannabis-related bills from 2021 were renewed in their house of origin and the House and Senate convened public hearings during the first three weeks of the short session.
  • February 3rd was the first deadline for bills to be recommended out of their house of origin policy committees, followed shortly by a second deadline on February 7th for house of origin fiscal committees to complete their initial work. Legislators and staff heard, amended, and pushed legislation through in advance of the third deadline for (most!) bills to be passed out of their chamber of origin on February 15th at 5pm PT.
  • At the turning point, policy committees took up remaining bills ahead of the February 24th opposite house policy committee cutoff. Fiscal committees began to work budgets before having to move bills over the weekend in advance of the Monday February 28th opposite house fiscal committee cutoff. And Friday March 4th at 5pm PT occasioned the sixth deadline for (most!) bills to be passed by the opposite chamber.
  • In the final week of the short session, legislators devoted the majority of their time to floor debate and negotiation between the chambers. However, some time was spent in last-minute committee hearings and executive sessions to move bills. Sine die, the last day of session, occurred on Thursday March 10th.
  • Washington State Governor Jay Inslee took formal action on very few bills during the session. For legislation received by his office within five days of the end of session, he could sign or partially veto it before it becomes law, or veto it altogether, within 20 days following the end of session.

Cannabis-Related Law (1)

HB 1210 - “Replacing the term ‘marijuana’ with the term ‘cannabis’ throughout the Revised Code of Washington.”

  • [ Legislation ]
  • 🌱⚖️ ‘marijuana’ to ‘cannabis’
  • Sponsors (14): Melanie Morgan, et al
  • Previous Step: second and third reading in WA Senate (Mar 1)
  • Previous Step: signed by Speaker of WA House (Mar 2)
  • Previous Step: signed by President of WA Senate (Mar 2)
  • Previous Step: delivered to WA Governor (Mar 7)
  • Last Step: signed by WA Governor (Mar 11)
  • Effective: July 1st

Budget-Related Legislation - Passed Legislature (1)

SB 5693 - “Making 2021-2023 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations.”

  • [ Legislation ]
  • 💸 Operating Budget Changes; where the money goes
  • Sponsors (3): Christine Rolfes, Linda Wilson, et al
  • Companion: HB 1816 (divergent)
  • Previous Step: concurrence vote in WA Senate and request for conference (Mar 8)
  • Previous Step: conference committee report signed (Mar 9)
  • Previous Step: conference committee report adopted by WA House (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: conference committee report adopted by WA Senate (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: signed by President of WA Senate (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: signed by Speaker of WA House (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: delivered to WA Governor (Mar 11)
  • Next Step: bill action by WA Governor

Cannabis-Related Legislation - Passed Legislature (2)

HB 1859 - “Concerning quality standards for laboratories conducting cannabis analysis.”

  • [ Legislation ]
  • 🔬 Cannabis Testing Labs; WSDA/WSLCB request legislation to shift regulation of labs to the department of agriculture; creation of Interagency Coordination Team (ICT) w/ department of health (DOH)
  • Requested By: WSDA, WSLCB
  • Sponsors (4): Shelley Kloba, Kelly Chambers, et al
  • Companion: SB 5699 (inactive)
  • Previous Step: concurrence vote in WA House (Mar 8)
  • Previous Step: signed by Speaker of WA House (Mar 9)
  • Previous Step: signed by President of WA Senate (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: delivered to WA Governor (Mar 10)
  • Next Step: bill action by WA Governor

SB 5796 - “Restructuring cannabis revenue appropriations.”

  • [ Legislation ]
  • 💸 Revision of Cannabis Tax Revenue Appropriations; where the money goes
  • Sponsors (5): Rebecca Saldaña, et al
  • Previous Step: concurrence vote in WA Senate (Mar 7)
  • Previous Step: signed by President of WA Senate (Mar 9)
  • Previous Step: signed by Speaker of WA House (Mar 10)
  • Previous Step: delivered to WA Governor (Mar 11)
  • Next Step: bill action by WA Governor