A Seattle City Council committee will begin work Thursday to shape a set of legislation proposed by the Harrell administration hoped to improve equity and inclusion in the city’s marijuana industry. A core element could be a new “social equity license” that would provide a new path to ownership for qualifying entrepreneurs hoped to even the playing field for those seeking the coveted permits.

Under the proposal, businesses would need to have at least “51% ownership” by individuals “who have resided in a disproportionately impacted area” where there have been factors like a high poverty rate or a “high rate of cannabis-related arrest, conviction or incarceration” to qualify for the special licenses. Other restrictions including state laws and city zoning would still apply.

The council Finance and Housing Committee is taking up the suite of three proposed bills that Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office says will “foster a more diverse industry” while supporting cannabis store workers.

The package submitted to Council includes three bills, which take immediate actions and also put in place structures for long-term solutions. The bills, if passed, would require the following efforts:

• Creation of a City-level social equity license, intended to reduce barriers toward opening cannabis stores for underrepresented communities and those most impacted by the war on drugs.
• Laying the groundwork for future cannabis-related businesses, in collaboration with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, to also issue licenses through a social equity framework. Ensuring transparency to employees around ownership of cannabis store business licenses holders.
• Requiring a 90-day retention of store workforce when ownership changes, similar to protections created for hotel workers in 2019.
• Creation of a short-term cannabis advisory committee, selected in collaboration with City Council to collect input on cannabis equity and needs from workers, community members, and industry leaders.
• Implementation of a needs assessment to understand additional steps to make the industry more robust and sustainable for diverse communities.
• Collaboration with County and community efforts to further the work of expunging convictions for cannabis-related crimes prior to 2014.
• Development of a state and federal legislative agenda promoting cannabis equity, as well as safety improvements, capital investments, and access to banking services.

“For a thriving Seattle economy, every worker and business deserve safety and the opportunity to learn, grow, and prosper,” Harrell said in the announcement of the new proposals. “As the cannabis industry continues to develop, we must course correct and support the communities who too often have been left behind. Equity in this industry means safe working conditions and fair treatment for workers, store ownership that includes the communities most impacted by the war on drugs, and a commitment to fairness, innovation, and opportunity.”

CHS reported here on legislative efforts to address cannabis industry inequity and work from the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force to address the lack of diverse ownership and issues with working conditions for frontline employees at the city’s cannabis businesses.

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