Wisconsin GOP lawmakers remove marijuana legalization from Governor's budget in joint hearing

Wisconsin Republican legislators have removed proposals for legalizing marijuana for recreational use and medical purposes from the Governor’s executive budget 2023-2025.

The Joint Finance Committee of the Wisconsin legislature voted on Tuesday to eliminate a number of provisions from Gov. Tony Evers (D)’s budget request includes measures to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis.

The move came as no surprise, since the GOP-controlled legislature had previously removed marijuana reform language from previous executive budgets. Top Republican lawmakers also warned that adult-use legalization proposals would not be considered this year.

We have the opportunity and responsibility to invest in long neglected needs and create the future that we desire for our state. Republicans reject more than 540 Wisconsin priorities, including:

— Governor Tony Evers May 2, 2020

Legalizing and taxing Marijuana

I proposed that we tax marijuana and legalize it, just as we do alcohol. This would allow us to compete with other states in the race for talent and give us more money to invest into state priorities such as K-12 education.

— Governor Tony Evers May 2, 2020 HTML0

Melissa Agard, Senate Minority leader (D), told Marijuana Moment that it was unfortunate that Republicans ignored the will of the people and removed cannabis legalization from state budget. Legalizing cannabis has a huge fiscal impact, but it also addresses Wisconsin’s egregious race disparities, strengthens agriculture and farming heritage and supports entrepreneurship.

Agard stated, “It is high time that we do this for the benefit of our state and people who live here.”

#Wisconsin does not support the prohibition of #Cannabis .

We must #LegalizeIt in order to reduce Wisconsin’s egregious disparities of race, strengthen our agricultural and farming heritage, regulate the illicit market safely, and encourage entrepreneurship. https://t.co/5Q8pEGkAh8

— Senator Melissa Agard (@SenatorAgard) May 2, 2023

Republicans claim that removing budget policy is an act of fiscal responsibility. However, Sen. LaTonya (D) stated at the meeting on Tuesday that eliminating legalization of marijuana contradicts this objective and prevents the state from gaining the economic benefits that come with establishing a regulated cannabis market.

She said, “We know that [legalization] can generate tax revenue of up to $44,000,000.” “Now, my Republican colleagues will say that they’re all about fiscal responsibility. Right? “I don’t know how fiscal responsibility can exist when we…leave $44 million of marijuana expansion on our table.”

Republicans took marijuana legalization out of @GovEvers budget, while ignoring the 2/3 of Wisconsinites that support it. It is absurd that Delta 8 is widely available and untaxed. This is nearly identical to traditional THC. #LegalizeIt https://t.co/1ROfLzf2nw

— LaTonya Johnson (@StateSenLaTonya) May 2, 2023

Johnson proposed a amendment to GOP motion, to reinstate the deleted provision, including marijuana reform. However, it was rejected by a vote of 4-12.

Evers’s proposal would have allowed adults over 21 to purchase up to 2 ounces marijuana for personal consumption and to grow up to 6 plants. The Department of Revenue, which had called for legalization in its budget request for this year would be responsible for regulating and issuing cannabis licenses.

Evers’s Office estimated in the budget request that legal cannabis would generate $44.4m in “segregated taxes” and an additional $10.2m in general fund tax revenues in fiscal year 2025, if the reform was enacted.

Wisconsin Republicans have rejected 545 of the @GovEvers budget proposals. Republicans have removed Medicaid expansion, marijuana, gun safety reforms and PFAS standards. pic.twitter.com/hMvSVOFcjT

Wisconsin Senate Democrats May 2, 2020

The Governor also included legalized adult-use marijuana and medical cannabis in the budget for 2021 as well as medical cannabis and decriminalization in his proposal for 2019. However, the conservative legislature has consistently obstructed the reform.

The GOP caucus met privately to discuss the advancement of medical marijuana legislation during this session. Earlier this year, Republican leadership stated that negotiations on medical cannabis reform could be compromised If Evers pushed for recreational legalization through his budget.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos did not provide any details when he announced the meetings in the last month. However, he stated that the goal was to create something that would be bipartisan and could be implemented later this year.

Agard, Senate Minority Leader and a leading advocate of adult-use legalization among Democrats, is skeptical about the plan.

Last month, she stated: “We’ve heard this story before. But actions speak louder that words.” “Session by session, the Speaker made empty promises and took no concrete steps towards any form of legal marijuana in Wisconsin.”

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Agard and Sen. Mary Felzkowski, (R), also discussed the prospects for cannabis reform at a webinar held by the Wisconsin Policy Forum in the last month.

Felzkowski has sponsored medical cannabis legislation and said she is “very, extremely focused” on bringing medical marijuana to the end of the session.

She told Marijuana Moment, however, that there will be a “compromise”, which will likely result in the prohibition of smoking cannabis as well as the limitation of the conditions under which people are eligible for medical marijuana.

Wisconsin legislators are being urged to allow some sort of regulated cannabis access, given the rapid changes in regional policies.

A report released in February revealed that 50% of Wisconsinites aged 21 and over live within 75 miles of a cannabis retailer located outside of Wisconsin, in places like Illinois or Michigan. This percentage could increase if legislative efforts to legalize cannabis in Minnesota succeed this session.

According to Agard ‘s recent legislative analysis, Wisconsin residents bought more than $121,000,000 worth of marijuana in Illinois from legal retailers by 2022. This generated about $36,000,000 in tax revenue for the state.

Vos, Assembly Speaker, said that enacting adult-use legalization via the budget would “poison” the well in the legislature and jeopardize talks on medical marijuana. The leader of the Senate, however, has stated that he believes a more modest policy can be implemented this session.

Devin LeMahieu, Senate Majority leader (R), said that “our caucus has made some progress on medical marijuana.” “Most of our members who have reached a stage where they are able to vote on it, just want it to be regulated properly.”

The Governor said he was encouraged to hear the Senate Leader’s comments about a near consensus on medical marijuana . He is prepared to sign any legislation that does not have too many restrictions.

Evers did not mention his legalization plan in his budget address this year. However, he did emphasize in his inaugural speech last month the need for the state to have “meaningful conversations about treating marijuana like we treat alcohol.”

While some Wisconsin legislators have introduced bills to Legalize Cannabis for Adult Use, and former Assembly Majority leader Jim Steineke(R) said that legalization was “likely to happen” at some point — the legislature has failed to pass more modest measures like decriminalization, or the Legalization of Medical Cannabis.

Evers, who met with college students ahead of the November elections, encouraged them to vote and get involved, in part, to ensure that the state moves forward on marijuana legalization.

The governor had introduced a resolution that would have allowed citizens to place initiatives on the ballot. If Democrats won enough seats to pass the resolution, they could also have passed it. The move was welcomed by marijuana advocates, who hoped that it would allow voters to decide whether or not marijuana should be legalized. However, it is unlikely that GOP legislators will support it.

has been making its voice heard in the state on cannabis reform during the last few election cycles. Recently, voters in five counties and three municipalities in Wisconsin have approved non-binding questions for their local ballots to support legalization.

Local votes serve as a way to communicate with constituents and provide lawmakers with an accurate picture of their policy climate. The laws that have been approved do not, however, change by themselves.

In an August statewide survey, 69 percent (or a majority) of Wisconsin registered voters believe that marijuana should be legal. This includes 81 per cent of Democrats, 75 per cent of Independents and 51percent of Republicans.

Republicans introduced a limited medical marijuana bill last year. It was heard on 4/20 – the unofficial holiday celebrating marijuana. However, it came too late for legislators to vote on this measure.

Other GOP members have submitted bills to decriminalize more modestly marijuana possession within the state but none of these proposals has advanced.

In the current law, marijuana possession can be punished by a maximum fine of $1,000 and a jail term up to six-months for a first offence. A subsequent offense is punishable by up to three-and-a-half years in jail and a $10,000 maximum fine.