Washington State Senate
(WA Senate)

Legislators planned to host work sessions in advance of the 2025 session which would occasion the final convening of the House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee.

Revisions to the social equity program scoring rubric were shared by staff and board members promised there would be more chances for public input before any changes were adopted.

The first cannabis bill of 2024 was signed into law before a dynamic conclusion to the session as the “high THC” legislation criss-crossed the rotunda for a last minute change which may have fiscal consequences.

All cannabis bills were funded in the operating budget; the patient excise tax exemption bill was passed; a bill action was scheduled by the Governor; and lawmakers would conclude the 2024 regular session.

The supplemental operating budget’s final form would be released Wednesday morning as time ran short for the two remaining cannabis-related bills awaiting concurrence votes ahead of sine die on Thursday.

Senators made changes to data gathering requirements in a bill regulating “high THC” products before almost unanimously passing the measure and returning it to the House for concurrence.

The cannabis waste bill was passed by the Legislature; the supplemental operating budget was nearing completion; and two cannabis-related bills awaited concurrence votes in the last three days of session.

Senators reduced by half the period of time registered patients would be exempted from a cannabis excise tax under HB 1453, but a large majority again supported the change.

The patient excise tax exemption bill was modified and passed by the Senate, joining two other bills awaiting concurrence in their chambers of origin as lawmaker attention turned to budgets before sine die.

The “high THC” legislation was expanded in scope before passage in the Senate and the cannabis waste bill was passed in the House ahead of the deadline on Friday which three cannabis bills still had to make.