HB 1650 was heard last week in the House Appropriations Committee and, at the time of writing, is scheduled for a vote in that committee this weekend. AWC testified opposed to the bill.

Watch the January 9 and February 1 testimony on TVW.

Bill with cannabis preemption passes out committee

January 26, 2024

HB 1650 passed out of the House Regulated Substances & Gaming Committee and has been referred to House Appropriations for fiscal consideration.

Despite AWC’s requested amendments, the bill at this time still contains the preemption language that:

• Prevents local governments from prohibiting cannabis retail businesses in their jurisdiction after July 1, 2028, unless a majority of voters in the jurisdiction voting in a general election held after July 1, 2024, vote to approve an ordinance prohibiting cannabis retailers.
• Establishes state preemption of the regulation of cannabis retailers except for voter-approved bans and limited exceptions.
• Reallocates new cannabis excise tax revenues generated from jurisdictions that previously had a ban until July 1, 2033.

There are 81 cities in Washington that have prohibited cannabis businesses and 94 that have zoning regulations. MRSC maintains helpful resources – a map of marijuana zoning in cities and counties across Washington and a resource page on cannabis regulation.

AWC encourages cities that prohibit cannabis retail businesses to contact their legislators.

Cannabis bill that removes local decision-making authority scheduled for public hearing

January 5, 2024

While we have seen several new bills make their way to this week’s schedule, one bill from last year has been quickly scheduled for a committee hearing this session. HB 1650, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie (D–Vancouver), concerns cannabis businesses and is back on the table. AWC opposes HB 1650 as it removes local elected decision-making authority and removes potential revenue sources from cities.

With the proposed substitute, added last week by the sponsor, the bill would:

• Prevent local governments from prohibiting cannabis retail businesses in their jurisdiction after July 1, 2028 unless a majority of voters in the jurisdiction voting in a general election vote after July 1, 2024 to approve an ordinance prohibiting cannabis retailers. This means that even cities that had previously submitted the issue to voters would need to resubmit the ban to a vote. Currently about 80 cities out of 281 have some kind of prohibition on cannabis retail businesses.
• Establish a state preemption of the regulation of cannabis retail businesses except for the authorization for voter-approved bans at the city, town, or county level, and limited exceptions. This regulatory preemption will likely impact cities that currently allow the siting of cannabis retailers forcing them to revise their requirements.
• Finally, the bill tries to allocate cannabis excise tax revenues from certain new cannabis retail outlets located in jurisdictions that had prohibitions that were not reimposed by voter approval until July 1, 2032, directing 50 percent of re-allocated funds to substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment services and 50 percent of re-allocated funds to cannabis research.

AWC opposes HB 1650 due to the preemption issues as well as the confusion created by the redirection of cannabis revenues. Cities have relied on home rule authority to regulate cannabis retailers since the initiative was passed and this bill changes that. AWC has additional technical concerns about how the bill proposes to amend RCW.

Last year, AWC testified in opposition to the bill and several cities also expressed opposition due to the preemption. AWC encourages cities with a prohibition to reach out to your legislators to express concerns regarding this bill. AWC also encourages cities to review the new regulatory restrictions to see if they impact your cities current local cannabis retailer regulations.

Dates to remember

HB 1650 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Regulated Substances & Gaming Committee on January 9 at 4 pm.