On Monday, the Minnesota Legislative Conference Committee held its second session on a pair House and Senate marijuana legislation bills. The committee resolved most of the remaining differences in time for a final deadline.
Negotiators from both parties tackled key sections, such as provisions on licensing, expungements, and criminal penalties. But tax- and appropriations-related issues must still be resolved by the panel–and agreed to by the full legislature–before the House’s planned adjournment for the year on Thursday.
Conference committees were formed because both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed marijuana legalization bills in the past month. These bills were then amended separately over a week-long committee process. differences must be resolved in order for a final bill to pass through both chambers and reach the governor.
The conference negotiators , including Rep. Zack Stephenson and Sen. Lindsey Port, who are the sponsors of the bills, will have to meet again at least once more to discuss the remaining articles regarding taxes and appropriations. The panel met for the first time on Friday. Members will meet again on Tuesday.
The conference committee met on Monday to discuss articles 1, 4, and 5 as well as the remaining sections of Article 6 of the bill. They again chose to accept the House versions for most provisions.
A negotiated agreement sets a limit on the amount of marijuana that can be kept at home to two pounds.
The House bill allowed up to 1.5 lbs of cannabis to be kept in private residences, while the Senate bill allows up to 5 lbs.
Some activists are worried that the decision of the conference committee will criminalize anyone who harvests their legally grown plants.
Minnesotans are allowed to grow 8 plants. Four of them will be mature. The lowest amount of marijuana produced by each plant is 1 pound. If you are growing up to the maximum allowed by law, then you will be committing a crime when you harvest.
Maren Joyce 15 May 2023 HTML0
The panel adopted a number of amendments. One of them allowed localities to limit marijuana business licenses according to population size. This is similar to the provisions of the Senate’s version of the bill, but with a higher minimum license number than the Senate approved.
The other amendments accepted gave regulators the authority to decide on health and safety warnings, potency limits and create a medical cannabis combination license that allows businesses to sell both medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis. They also ensured that state medical cannabis regulatory staff can transfer to the new Office of Cannabis Management, and added a patient who has experience with the mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment systems to the Cannabis Advisory Committee.
The members also agreed to extend criminal background checks to all cooperative members, directors, managers and general partners of marijuana businesses and to set a definition of social equity applicants. This included clarifying whether people with convictions for cannabis possession or sale would qualify.
Additional amendments will allow for further classification of data for investigations. They will also allow regulators to increase canopy sizes to meet the demand. This bill allows for mid-sized mezzobusinesses that are able to process and grow medical cannabis.
The conference committee adopted further amendments that included expanding the expungement provisions and adding language regarding compacts with Indian Tribes. It also changed provisions on driving a motor vehicle or carrying a firearm while under the influence, as well as making technical changes in definitions.
The bill also removed several sections related to expungements because they were similar to those that were already in the separate omnibus judiciary and safety bill which is currently being passed.
Rep. Nolan West, one of the two Republicans appointed to negotiate, proposed amendments that would revise definitions of artificially-derived cannabinoids and permit cannabinoids naturally found in cannabis plants to appear in low-potency products. They also allowed for variations in cannabinoid contents within the range of the analytical method being used for testing. But they were rejected.
West retracted additional amendments that would have allowed low-potency products of hemp to be displayed behind locked cases instead of being behind the counter in stores. Stephenson said he was open to adopting similar changes at the next panel meeting.
Jordan Rasmusson, a Republican senator from Minnesota, also expressed concern about certain language adopted in the agreements on local control and labor. He tried to pass an amendment that would have delayed the effective date for some criminal penalties until August 1, 2024.
Port said that members will discuss the proposal in greater detail at Tuesday’s meeting. Rasmusson retracted an amendment which sought to include adult cannabis education programs as well as youth.
The bill must be voted on again in both chambers after the final draft is approved by the conference committee.
Gov. Tim Walz, who published a biennial budget request for funding marijuana legalization and expungements in January, has already promised to sign the bill when it is received.
With majorities in both the House and Senate and control over the governorship this session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor party officials have been expressing confidence that legalization will be enacted this year.
The bill that passed both chambers was an updated version of the 2021 House Bill, which was introduced by former Majority leader Ryan Winkler (D), now serving as campaign chair of the advocacy coalition MN Is Ready.
In January , the governor sent out an email encouraging people to sign the petition in support of the reform.
These are the main components in the revised marijuana legalization bill, HF100 and SF73.
Adults over 21 could buy and possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana in public. They could also grow up to 8 plants at home. Four of them could be mature.
Two pounds of marijuana is allowed to be kept at home.
Adults can give each other up to 2 ounces of marijuana for free.
Previous marijuana records will also be automatically expunged. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be responsible for identifying those who qualify for relief and processing the expungements.
Municipalities and counties can also own and run government dispensaries in addition to establishing a system of cannabis businesses.
The bill allows for cannabis delivery services and on-site consumption permits to be granted at events.
Local governments will not be able to ban marijuana businesses in their area, but they can set “reasonable regulations” on when and where these businesses operate. They can also limit the number cannabis business licenses according to population size.
The House bill would tax cannabis at 8%. After that, the commissioner for management and budget will adjust the rate every 2 years to ensure revenues are equal or don’t significantly exceed the costs incurred by different agencies in implementing legalization. The Senate bill would impose a tax of 10 percent on marijuana sales, which wouldn’t change over time.
The tax revenue will be used to fund programs for substance abuse treatment and grants to farmers.
The Office of Cannabis Management, which would regulate the market and issue cannabis business licenses, would be created. A designated Division of Social Equity would be created.
This legislation promotes social equity in part by giving higher scores to equity applicants. Social equity applicants would include people who live in low-income areas and veterans who have lost their honorable status because of a cannabis-related crime. The House bill also states that those who are convicted cannabis crimes or have a family member who has been convicted would qualify.
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Before it was brought to the House floor, this bill had been vetted in numerous committees. The bill passed the Ways and Means Committee and Taxes Committee. It also passed the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee and Health Finance and Policy Committee.
The Senate committees who have approved the bill include the Finance Committee, Taxes Committee, Rules and Administration Committee, State and Local Government and Veterans Committee, Labor Committee, Human Services Committee, Health and Human Services Committee, Transportation Committee, Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee, Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee, Jobs and Economic Development Committee, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, and Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
Democrats agreed internally to discuss the issue as soon as possible after their November election victory.
A poll released last week found 64 percent of Minnesota voters are in favor of a regulated market for marijuana, including 81 per cent of Democrats and 49 percent of Republicans.
Two surveys released in September showed that the majority of Minnesota residents supported adult-use marijuana. One survey also revealed that more Minnesotans approved of the state’s decision to legalize THC infused edibles, which was enacted by the state last year.
In September, a poll conducted by members of the House during the State Fair found that the majority also supported legalization. This legislature-run survey found that 61 per cent of Minnesotans support legalizing cannabis for adults.
The support for legalization was higher this year than in 2021 when the House Public Information Services surveyed fair-goers. The House poll in 2019 found that 56 percent supported legalization.
In Minnesota, however, the House passed a separate omnibus bill in the last month. This bill contains provisions that create a task force to prepare Minnesota for possible legalization.
In the House, the large-scale Senate bill was amended earlier this month by Rep. Andy Smith. The proposal will likely move to a bipartisan conference committee where members will reconcile the differences between House and Senate proposals.
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The article Minnesota Lawmakers Solve Most Differences in Marijuana Legalization Measures During Second Conferencing Meeting first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
