14 cannabis-related bills remained active ahead of the opposite house policy committee cutoff on Wednesday including four which had executive sessions rescheduled for amendment work.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday March 27th
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 ]
- Executive Session
- HB 1563 - “Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.”
- On Tuesday March 21st, committee leadership skipped a planned executive session on the legislation to allow for additional work on the bill.
- At publication time, there were no published amendments on the legislation.
- HB 1563 - “Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.”
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 ]
- Executive Session
- SB 5405 - “Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority.”
- In the evening on Friday March 24th, Washington State legislative staff published Representative Greg Cheney’s amendment to the legislation which would establish process, training, and reporting requirements around the new agency authority.
- SB 5546 - “Establishing a Washington state cannabis commission.”
- In the late morning on Friday March 24th, an executive session on legislation to create a framework for establishing a cannabis commission was added to the committee’s second to last planned meeting.
- Committee leadership opted not to bring the cannabis commission bill up for a vote on Thursday March 23rd.
- At publication time, there were no published amendments on the legislation.
- SB 5405 - “Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority.”
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 1140 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.”
- The agenda indicated, “The proposed substitute bill and summary documents will be available at noon on Monday, March 27.”
- HB 1140 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium 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 ]
- Executive Session
- SB 5187 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.”
- After publication of the proposed substitute on Thursday March 23rd, a public hearing on the Senate version of the biennium operating budget legislation was hosted on Friday March 24th. 302 people signed up to testify on the voluminous 1240 page bill.
- Over the weekend, legislative staff published 132 proposed amendments to the legislation through late Sunday night. On review, none of the amendments appeared to be cannabis-specific.
- SB 5187 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.”
Tuesday March 28th
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 ]
WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) committee meeting was cancelled.
- Senators expected their policy work would be completed on Monday and cancelled their Tuesday meeting.
WA Senate RULE - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday following the Senate pro forma session, the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) planned to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Members planned to convene at the rostrum to signify their assent to pull two packages of bills to the consent and floor calendars.
- At publication time, two cannabis-related bills were assigned to WA Senate RULE:
- And two gubernatorial appointment confirmations had been referred to WA Senate RULE:
- SGA 9317 - “James R. Vollendroff, Member, Liquor and Cannabis Board”
- SGA 9328 - “Ollie Garrett, Member, Liquor and Cannabis Board”
- During their Friday March 24th meeting, WA Senate RULE members added the appointment of WSLCB Chair David Postman to the confirmation calendar.
- In the House, representatives pulled one cannabis bill out of the Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL) to their floor calendar at the end of their Friday March 24th session.
- SB 5123 - "Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis."
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.
- [ Event Details ]
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
On Tuesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- SB 5363 - “Concerning cannabis retailer advertising.”
- At publication time, no amendments had been published on the legislation.
- SB 5363 - “Concerning cannabis retailer advertising.”
Wednesday March 29th
WA Legislature - Opposite House Policy Committee Cutoff
On Wednesday, the Washington State Legislature would mark the next cutoff gateway signifying the end of regular policy committee work.
- The cutoff 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.”
- After Wednesday, fiscal committees in each chamber would have until Tuesday April 4th to consider moving their peers’ legislation.
WA ORC Task Force - Meeting
On Wednesday at 9am PT, the Washington State Organized Retail Crime Task Force (WA ORC Task Force) was scheduled to convene its quarterly meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
- The agenda listed the following panelists for a 45m segment on "Issues Impacting the Cannabis Retail Industry":
- Ian Eisenberg - Uncle Ike’s Co-Owner
- Ken Weaver - Slow Burn Co-Owner
- Shannon Vetto - Evergreen Market CEO
- Paul Brice - Happy Trees Retail Cannabis Owner
WSLCB - Board Meeting
On Wednesday at 10am PT, the bi-weekly WSLCB Board Meeting was scheduled to recur.
- [ Event Details ]
- Previously, consideration of two petitions for rulemaking had been planned for the March 29th board meeting:
- As well, board members were scheduled to consider doubling the duration of the social equity program retail license application window.
- On Friday March 24th, WSLCB staff posted and announced “the Rules Team is bringing an emergency rule proposal to extend the application deadline for social equity cannabis retail licenses from March 30, 2023 to April 27, 2023. This extension will be presented to the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting on March 29, 2023.”
WA House APP - Committee Meeting
On Wednesday at 4pm PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Executive Session
- HB 1140 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.”
- We expect to see a significant number of amendments to the House version of the biennium operating budget published on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- HB 1140 - “Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium operating appropriations.”
Thursday March 30th
WA House APP - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
- As fiscal committee work began in earnest on Thursday, representatives signified the relative importance of the WSLCB social equity program legislation by scheduling its public hearing for their first day of dedicated work.
- SB 5080 - “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program.”
Friday March 31st
WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee - Public Meeting
On Friday at 12pm PT, the Washington State Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission Legislative Committee (WA Pharmacy Commission Legislative Committee) was scheduled to convene their weekly public meeting.
- [ Event Details ]
WA House APP - Committee Meeting
On Friday at 1:30pm PT, the Washington State House Appropriations Committee (WA House APP) was scheduled to convene.
- [ Event Details ]
- Public Hearing
- SB 5367 - “Concerning the regulation of products containing THC.”
- The WSLCB THC bill was scheduled for its opposite house fiscal committee hearing on the second day of dedicated committee focus.
- SB 5367 - “Concerning the regulation of products containing THC.”