Bill
SB 5405
Expands the Liquor and Cannabis Board's subpoena power for cannabis investigations, with safeguards, trained service, pre-subpoena steps, and annual reporting.
Status and procedural posture
- Bill number: SB 5405. Status: Senate Rules “X” file. (Originally introduced in 2023; reintroduced/retained by resolution and again introduced/referred in 2025.) Public hearings and committee action took place in 2023–2025; most recent referral (per provided record) was to the Senate Ways & Means Committee on January 21, 2025, with a public hearing scheduled February 4, 2025. Effective date (as in earlier drafts): 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Purpose / intent
- Expand and clarify the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s (LCB) statutory authority to issue subpoenas in investigations, hearings, or proceedings—specifically to support cannabis-related investigations—and to add procedural safeguards, service requirements, training, and transparency measures.
Key substantive provisions
- Expanded subpoena authority
- Authorizes the LCB to subpoena production of books, records, and documents held under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and the Washington State Medical Use of Cannabis Act.
- Authorizes subpoenas for books and records of common carriers and vehicle rental agencies relating to transportation or possession of cannabis (clarifies that provisions apply to both carriers and rental agencies).
- Required pre-subpoena attempts
- Before issuing/serving a subpoena the LCB must, at minimum, attempt to obtain records by: (1) an informal investigative contact and (2) regular mail and certified mail.
- Methods and personnel for service
- Subpoenas may be served by regular mail and certified mail or in person by either:
- An LCB enforcement officer who has successfully completed the Basic Law Enforcement Academy (or equivalent basic law enforcement training); or
- A private investigator licensed under state law.
- Training and notice
- Any individual who signs, issues, or serves LCB subpoenas must complete unconscious bias training.
- Persons served a subpoena must receive written information explaining how to challenge the subpoena.
- Procedure, process, and burden protections
- The LCB must adopt a uniform process/procedures for signing, issuing, and serving subpoenas.
- Except where the bill provides otherwise, the LCB is subject to Washington superior court civil rules in effect at time of issuance regarding form, issuance, service, and the duty to avoid imposing undue burden or expense.
- Enforcement
- Failure to obey an LCB subpoena exposes a person to contempt proceedings; the LCB may bring contempt actions in Thurston County Superior Court or the superior court of the county where the person resides.
- Reporting and sunset
- The LCB must submit annual reports to the Governor and Legislature on subpoenas issued/served under RCW 66.08.145. Required report items include totals, breakdowns by subject matter (cannabis, liquor, cigarettes, vapor/tobacco), how many involved social equity applicants/licensees, service method counts, compliance success rates, contempt actions filed, and summaries of court sanctions/orders.
- Reports due July 1, 2024, and each July 1 thereafter through a final report due July 1, 2028. The reporting requirement expires June 30, 2029.
Who is affected
- Directly affected: cannabis license applicants and licensees (including social equity participants), common carriers and vehicle rental agencies involved in cannabis transport, businesses holding records under the cited chapters, and individuals served with LCB subpoenas.
- Administrative impacts: LCB staff (training, procedural implementation, reporting tasks), licensed private investigators serving subpoenas.
- Indirect: courts handling contempt proceedings; regulated industries subject to LCB investigations.
Fiscal and other notes
- No appropriation is included in the bill text provided; a fiscal note is referenced as available. The bill creates administrative duties (training, uniform procedures, annual reporting) that could produce modest agency workload and costs.
- The bill adds oversight and transparency (annual reports) while tightening procedural protections around how and by whom subpoenas are served.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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