LCB staff: short legislative session winding down; few cannabis bills appear likely to advance

Mark, the board's legislative lead, told the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board caucus that the 2026 short legislative session is nearly over and that many cannabis-related proposals introduced this year are not advancing past the House-of-origin cutoff.

"Session ends a bit more than a week from now. It is crazy," Mark said as he opened his update, summarizing a year he called "odd" compared with more productive supplemental sessions in prior years.

Mark outlined which measures still appear to be moving: Ryan's Law (allowing the use of cannabis in some end-of-life care settings, which passed Senate Ways & Means), bills adjusting tobacco and alternative-nicotine tax policy, an implementation bill tied to the Governor's executive order about licensing and permitting timeliness, a few modest alcohol bills (one to allow licensees to lease space to another licensee; another to permit wine sales at snack bars currently limited to beer), and a bill to raise cannabis license fees (without automatic inflation indexing).

When Chair Volendroff asked whether any of the bills likely to pass would produce a substantial workload for the agency, Mark said most would have low impact. He identified the licensing-and-permitting-timeliness bill as the primary piece that would require more agency effort and advance planning but said the agency can meet the timeline in the bill with appropriate work.

The legislative update closed with staff describing a number of other cannabis-related proposals that were introduced late or in combined omnibus packages and thus have little realistic chance of passage this session. The board did not take action during the caucus; staff said they will return with implementation planning if bills clear the legislature.