Four new cannabis bills were scheduled for introduction in the senate, interstate commerce was ready to be moved in both chambers, and the social equity hearing was briefly continued.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Friday January 13th, the 5th day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- Four new bills were scheduled for introduction in the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) on Friday, including the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) request legislation redefining tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its regulation.
- SB 5367, “Concerning the regulation of products containing THC,” was scheduled for introduction by Senators June Robinson and Mark Schoesler, both members of the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) where the bill would likely be referred.
- SB 5363, “Concerning cannabis retailer advertising,” by Senator Drew MacEwen would remove size limits and defer to local oversight of signage and billboards.
- SB 5376, “Allowing the sale of cannabis waste,” by Senators Derek Stanford and Ann Rivers would enable producers and processors to sell “cannabis waste [that] would not be designated as dangerous or hazardous waste” to parties outside of the 502 system.
- SB 5377, “Concerning cannabis license ownership,” by Senators Rivers, Stanford, Mark Mullet, and MacEwen combines out-of-state ownership provisions with a novel approach to suspend inactive producer licenses until interstate commerce conditions are met.
- The interstate commerce bill was scheduled for executive session in the Senate, and its House companion executive session was shifted from Monday to Tuesday to make room for a hearing on the liquid edibles bill.
- SB 5069, “Allowing interstate cannabis agreements,” was scheduled for executive session on Tuesday January 17th in WA Senate LC. Its largely identical companion, HB 1159, had its executive session shifted from Monday to Tuesday in 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,” was scheduled for its initial policy committee public hearing in WA House RSG on Monday January 16th.
- The continuation of the public hearing on SB 5080, “Expanding and improving the social equity in cannabis program,”elicited one additional public comment.
- The initial hearing on SB 5080 was hosted during an abbreviated WA Senate LC meeting on Tuesday January 10th. After hearing from only ten of 24 individuals signed up to testify, Chair Karen Keiser decided to continue the hearing at the beginning of the committee’s Thursday January 12th meeting.
- On Thursday three individuals signed up to testify, only one of whom was both available and addressed the bill. FMS Global Strategies President and CEO Paula Sardinas offered her perspective on behalf of the Washington Build Back Black Alliance (WBBA) and as a former Co-Chair of the Washington State Legislative Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis (WA SECTF, video).