The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) is Washington state’s designated highway safety office as codified in RCW 43.59. The WTSC Director is the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative, which is a designated position each state is required to have in order to qualify for federal traffic safety funding. At publication time, the Commission was composed of ten Commissioners chaired by Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and supported by 29 employees.
Washington Traffic Safety Commission
(WTSC)
Public
Observations
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
(March 9, 2023) - WSIPP Work Session
Lawmakers were briefed on the continued evaluation of I-502, including the most recent implementation report and an overview of the 2023 report on how cannabis revenue was spent.
WA Governor - Bill Action
(May 9, 2023) - SB 5367
A bill regulating products containing THC was signed, granting new authority and rulemaking mandates for WSLCB - though fewer hemp licensees may be another result of the law.
WIDAC - Council Meeting
(April 13, 2023) - Impaired Driving Data
The council heard that even after modifications to traffic fatality data involving drug testing results the narrative on the increasing prevalence of poly-drug incidences remained unchanged.
WSLCB - Board Caucus
(April 18, 2023) - Summary
Board members learned more about environmental pesticide investigations and test results before hearing a proposal for a dedicated research unit at the agency and legislative updates.
WA House RSG - Committee Meeting
(January 19, 2023) - Summary
WSLCB officials were peppered with questions as they discussed their regulatory practices around youth access, social equity, hemp, and agency reorganization with lawmakers.
The Week Ahead
(January 16, 2023)
15 cannabis bills—3x as many as were pre-filed—would be active as of Monday while the WSLCB board moved towards opening the social equity program retail application window.
WTSC - Commission Meeting
(October 20, 2022) - Improving and Understanding Poly-Drug Information
Commissioners heard how methodology changes to improve the identification of poly-drugged driving incidents revealed significant historical overreporting of cases involving cannabis.
The Week Ahead
(October 17, 2022)
Larger cultural movements surfaced in the microcosm of cannabis policymaking as senators heard about retail theft and safety experts considered their goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2030.
The Week Ahead
(July 18, 2022)
WSLCB board members would discuss prospective challenges to cannabis social equity programs with a subject matter expert and traffic safety commissioners planned to convene.
The Week Ahead
(July 11, 2022)
A busy summer week would feature deliberations of a social equity work group, a WSDA hemp program webinar, WSLCB leadership updates, and the WA Impaired Driving Advisory Council (WIDAC).