Legislators had hundreds of bills to consider before the house of origin cutoff on Wednesday, then policy committees would renew activity - including on the first cannabis zombie bill.
Here’s a look at cannabis-related policymaking events on the calendar in the week ahead.
Monday March 6th
WA House - Session
On Monday at 10am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.
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- At publication time, there were no cannabis bills on the house floor calendar among 165 bills positioned for second reading.
- Representatives had been opting to pull packages of bills out of the Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL) during floor sessions rather than convening the body. At publication time, there were 202 bills assigned to WA House RUL including five cannabis bills.
- HB 1159 - “Allowing interstate cannabis agreements.”
- Divergent senate companion legislation, SB 5069, had already been passed by that body, introduced in the House, and referred to the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG).
- HB 1249 - “Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products.”
- Identical senate companion legislation, SB 5340, had been pulled to the Senate floor calendar for potential action.
- HB 1453 - “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
- HB 1650 - “Requiring voter approval for local government prohibitions on cannabis businesses.”
- HB 1822 - “Concerning complimentary products provided by short-term rental operators to guests.”
- HB 1159 - “Allowing interstate cannabis agreements.”
WA Senate - Session
On Monday at 10am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.
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- At publication time, one cannabis bill had been advanced to the senate floor calendar among 183 bills positioned for second reading:
- SB 5340 - "Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products."
- At publication time, there were no published floor amendments on the bill.
- SB 5340 - "Regarding limits on the sale and possession of retail cannabis products."
- Senators had been opting to convene the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) enabling members to exercise individual pulls in addition to accepting packages of bills for calendaring. At publication time, there were 123 bills assigned to WA Senate RULE including four cannabis bills.
Tuesday March 7th
WA House - Session
On Tuesday at 9am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.
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WA Senate - Session
On Tuesday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.
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WSLCB - Board Caucus
On Tuesday at 10am PT, the weekly Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Board Caucus was scheduled to recur.
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Wednesday March 8th
WA House - Session
On Wednesday at 9am PT, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to convene in session.
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WA Senate - Session
On Wednesday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) planned to convene in session.
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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.
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WA Legislature - House of Origin Cutoff
On Wednesday at 5pm PT, the Washington State Legislature would mark the House of Origin Cutoff.
- The third gateway that most cannabis bills must be shepherded through would occur on Wednesday, described as the “Last day to consider (pass) bills in house of origin.”
- 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 agreed to by both chambers through the legislative process.
- 22 of 37 cannabis-related bills tracked by Cannabis Observer remained active at publication time, including one piece of legislation that had apparently been designated NTIB.
- Beginning Thursday, policy committees would reconvene to focus on bills from the opposite chamber and occasional zombie legislation.
Thursday March 9th
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 8am PT, the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) was scheduled to convene.
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- Public Hearing
- SB 5405 - "Modifying the liquor and cannabis board's subpoena authority."
- Work Session
- “Update from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy on the Initiative 502 (2012) Evaluations.”
WA Senate LAW - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 8am PT, the Washington State Senate Law and Justice Committee (WA Senate LAW) was scheduled to convene.
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- Public Hearing
- HB 1066 - “Making technical corrections and removing obsolete language from the Revised Code of Washington pursuant to RCW 1.08.025.”
WA Senate LC - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 9am PT, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) was scheduled to convene.
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- Public Hearing
- SGA 9131 - "David Postman, Chair, Liquor and Cannabis Board"
- SGA 9317 - "James R. Vollendroff, Chair, Liquor and Cannabis Board"
- SGA 9328 - "Ollie Garrett, Chair, Liquor and Cannabis Board"
- Garrett’s initial six-year term as a WSLCB Board Member expired on January 15th. The agency profile by the Washington State Office of the Governor (WA Governor) indicated she accepted a request for reappointment on February 1st for a second term ending January 15th, 2029.
WA Senate WM - Committee Meeting
On Thursday at 4pm PT, the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee (WA Senate WM) was scheduled to convene.
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- Public Hearing
- SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
- With the scheduling of a public hearing in its house of origin after the house of origin cutoff, SB 5259 earns the distinction of being the first cannabis-related bill to be designated NTIB this session granting the bill immunity from the agreed upon cutoff calendar.
- This legislation would have significant fiscal impact, estimated in the tens of millions of dollars by the Washington State Department of Revenue (WA DOR) for the business and occupation (B&O) tax credit for physical security improvements envisioned in the bill.
- Curiously, the WSLCB fiscal note does not venture a guess at potential impacts to cash receipts for the State when the “37% cannabis excise tax is reduced to 32 percent for cannabis retailers that spend $3,000 or more for physical security improvements to prevent theft at any single cannabis retail establishment in a calendar year.” WSLCB staff reasoned “the cannabis excise tax is collected from the customer, the retailer only remits it. Lowering the tax rate to 32% does not benefit the retailer except to make their products cheaper to the customer. The only way the retailer recoups the $3,000 spent on security upgrades is to increase their sales volume to the point that their net profit exceeds the $3,000.”
- According to the most recent estimates from WA DOR, cannabis retailers were expected to report $1.277B in total sales in fiscal year 2022, netting the State $472M from the 37% excise tax. Were that a 32% excise tax, the State would net $409M - a $64M decline in revenue.
- SB 5259 - “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
Friday March 10th
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.
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