Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cannabis Testing Labs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bill would let LCB accept WSDA lab accreditation to reduce redundant cannabis lab rules
Summary
House Bill 1347 would require the Liquor and Cannabis Board to accept Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories as the basis for LCB certification, aiming to reduce duplicative or conflicting agency rules on lab standards.
House Bill 1347 would require the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to accept accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories by the Washington State Department of Agriculture as the sole basis for the LCB’s certification of those labs, except when the lab has violated LCB requirements. The bill would also charge an interagency coordination team to reduce redundancies among agencies overseeing lab standards.
Staff briefing: Peter Klotfelter, committee staff, explained that three agencies — the LCB, WSDA and the Department of Health — have overlapping roles in cannabis lab oversight. WSDA currently accredits laboratories under WAC 16310 and related rules; LCB rules still require separate LCB certification. HB 1347 would direct LCB to accept WSDA accreditation—unless the lab had violated board requirements—and add an interagency coordination requirement to reduce regulatory duplication.
Industry witnesses: Brooke Davies of the Washington Cannabis Business Association and Tom Hubbell of Tree Line Analytics told the committee they support HB 1347 and urged clearer delineation of agency roles. They described instances of regulatory duplication and potential conflicting requirements across WAC chapters (for example, WAC 314-55-103 v. WAC 16309/16310) and urged statute-level clarification to avoid future conflicts and uncertainty during administrative transitions.
Laboratory perspective: Laura Kaminsky of Confidence Analytics, one of six licensed cannabis labs in the state, endorsed the bill while asking for clearer statutory language. Kaminsky requested explicit limits on LCB authority in the bill text — suggesting the board’s role focus on ensuring reporting into traceability systems and responding to records requests during investigations, while leaving accreditation and method validation to WSDA.
Agency view: Mark Webster of the LCB (testifying on HB 1341 earlier in the hearing) supported HB 1347 as an agency request to make coordination work as intended and reduce duplicative certification burdens.
Committee action: The committee held a public hearing and heard technical testimony from staff, industry and labs. No formal vote was recorded during the hearing.
