Patients would get another chance at excise tax exemption, WSLCB leadership prepared to tell their 502 story, and only two cannabis bills were scheduled for action the following week.
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Thursday January 19th, the 11th day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- On Thursday, Representative Sharon Wylie planned to introduce HB 1453, “Providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients.”
- The bill would exempt registered medical cannabis patients from the 37% excise tax levied on DOH-compliant cannabis products purchased at retailers holding a medical cannabis endorsement.
- SB 5004, largely identical legislation from the 2021-22 biennial session, was passed by the Senate (twice) and was added to the House floor calendar in 2022 but not granted a second reading.
- At publication time, Wylie was the co-chair of the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) where the bill was set to be referred after introduction on Thursday.
- Members of the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) planned to dedicate their January 19th meeting to a lengthy presentation from Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) leadership on their history of the Initiative 502 marketplace.
- The work session, “Examining the Development of Cannabis Policy and Regulation Since Passage of Initiative 502 (2012),” was scheduled to begin at 8am PT and would feature the following WSLCB presenters:
- Rick Garza, Executive Director
- David Postman, Board Chair
- Justin Nordhorn, Director of Policy and External Affairs
- Chandra Wax, Director of Education and Enforcement
- Katherine Hoffman, Policy and Rules Manager
- The 41 slide WSLCB presentation was published on Wednesday in the late afternoon.
- The work session, “Examining the Development of Cannabis Policy and Regulation Since Passage of Initiative 502 (2012),” was scheduled to begin at 8am PT and would feature the following WSLCB presenters:
- In the calendars published by legislative staff on Wednesday evening, only two cannabis-related bills were scheduled for action the following week.
- On Monday January 23rd, WA House RSG members scheduled an initial public hearing on HB 1341, “Concerning cannabis license ownership,” an out-of-state ownership bill featuring suspension of dormant producer licenses until interstate commerce becomes viable.
- On Thursday January 26th, Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) leadership scheduled an initial public hearing on SB 5259, “Ensuring commerce and workplaces are safe from product theft.”
- At publication time, seven other cannabis bills which had been referred to WA Senate LC had not been scheduled for public hearings.