Representatives passed legislation to better protect all patients who use cannabis medically, the WSLCB subpoena bill gets a hearing, and the House meets Saturday (as the Senate rests).
Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Saturday March 4th, the 55th day of the 2023 Regular Session.
My top 3 takeaways:
- On Friday March 3rd, representatives voted to pass HB 1563,“Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis” (audio - 4m, video).
- Prime sponsor Representative Shelley Kloba provided background on the bill which would offer “equal treatment under the law” for authorized patients as well as individuals who choose to register their authorization with the State (audio - 2m, video). Representative Kelly Chambers spoke to expected “mixed” support for the bill amongst Republicans before advocating for its passage (audio - 1m, video).
- The bill was passed 63-32 (with 3 excused) and would be introduced in the senate.
- The House Democratic Caucus published an announcement about passage of the bill on Friday afternoon.
- Also on Friday, senate legislation to grant WSLCB staff subpoena authority on cannabis investigations was scheduled for an initial hearing in the Washington State House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee (WA House RSG) on Thursday March 9th.
- March 9th occasions the first day of policy committee work on legislation from the opposite chamber after the house of origin cutoff on Wednesday March 8th at 5pm PT.
- WA House RSG had already planned to host a work session to hear an “Update from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy [WSIPP] on the Initiative 502 (2012) Evaluations.”
- On Saturday March 4th, the Washington State House of Representatives (WA House) planned to reconvene to read, debate, amend, and vote on bills ahead of the house of origin cutoff on Wednesday March 8th - but the Washington State Senate (WA Senate) would not meet this weekend following an essential evening of debate into Friday night.
- WA House members planned to convene at 9:30am PT. At publication time, there were no cannabis bills on the house floor calendar.
- WA Senate members had considered convening at 9am PT on Saturday but, as they closed their work on Friday, agreed to meet again Monday morning instead.
- I attribute that in part to debates around the “controlled substances” bill, SB 5536, which was passed by senators late Friday night after incorporating many amendments. The only bill taken up during an evening session started at 9:50pm, many senators resisted final passage of the legislation as read for the third time, including many who changed their positions during the course of the event - and expressed much more (video - 1h18m).
- At publication time, one cannabis bill had been advanced to the senate floor calendar:
- 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.