Legislative Report 3/5/2020 - Legislature Moves to Regulate and Tax Cannabis

The week before Town Meeting was intense as the legislature spent long hours debating, amending, and passing two major bills: the regulation and taxation of legal cannabis and revisions to Act 250. Both are very complicated pieces of legislation, so I will focus this article on the 53-page cannabis bill, S.54.

The history of cannabis, a.k.a. marijuana, in Vermont law dates back more than 100 years.  Vermont outlawed marijuana in 1915 as part of a movement to restrict its usage throughout the United States in the early 20^th century.  Its presence in Vermont was well-known, however, during the “back-to-earth” movement in the 1970s and, truthfully, never left. It was approved for medicinal use with “a note from the doctor” in 2004 by a bill that Governor Jim Douglas allowed to become law without his signature. In 2013 the legislature decriminalized possession of up to an ounce; i.e. it became a civil infraction. Finally, in May of 2017, the legislature passed a bill legalizing adult possession of one ounce and possession of two mature plants per household, but the bill was vetoed by Governor Scott. However, the following January the House passed an amended version, the Senate followed, and Governor Scott signed it into law. So, while it is legal to possess marijuana in small quantities, it has not been legal to buy or sell it or bring it into Vermont, including marijuana seeds.  It is a highly dysfunctional system in which the black market continues to thrive.

Because of the need and desire for strict regulation, the production and sale of cannabis will be considered a business rather than “farming” and will not be eligible for agricultural tax breaks. However, sections of the Required Agricultural Practices related to operating standards for farming, groundwater quality, and subsurface tile drainage will apply to cannabis cultivation, processing, and manufacturing.

The bill we just passed creates a Cannabis Control Board that will issue licenses and regulate all aspects of the marijuana market in Vermont. There are six types of licenses: Cultivator, Product manufacturer, Wholesaler, Testing laboratory, Retailer, and an Integrated license. A person may hold a maximum of one of each license, except that an integrated license is only available to the current five vertically integrated registered medical cannabis dispensaries in Vermont. Retail cannabis establishments are allowed in a municipality only if the voters of the municipality approve. Other types of licensees cannot be disallowed, but must comply with any local bylaws, ordinances, or permits. The bill bans advertising related to cannabis and requires cannabis and cannabis products intended for human consumption to be tested for contaminants, potency, and quality. All cannabis products remain illegal for persons under 21 years of age.

Taking into consideration roadside safety, all Vermont officers will be required to take 16 hours of Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) training by the end of 2021, and roadside test results and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evaluation results will be admissible in court.

A 14% excise tax and the regular 6% sales tax will be assessed on retail marijuana sales. Any local option tax will also apply.  Expected revenues during the first year are around $13M. The revenues from the sales tax will go into the Education Fund for after-school programs, 30% of the excise tax revenue will be used for prevention programs, and the rest will go to the General Fund. The bill is now back in the Senate for its approval or further amendment.

I have been honored to be able to serve you in the legislature and work for the improvement of our environment and quality of life. I’m taking this opportunity to announce that I will be running for re-election again this year and would appreciate your continued support.  I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com), phone calls (802-233-5238), or in-person contacts.  

The Word in the House 2/27/2020 - Climate Action, Act 250 Changes and Cannabis

After weeks of hard work the Vermont House passed the Global Warming Solutions Act (H.688) with a solid 105 to 37 vote. This bill, the subject of last week’s article which can be found here, is the product of the House Energy & Technology Committee chaired by Representative Tim Briglin of Thetford. It will become the foundation for Vermont’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with the 2016 Paris Climate Treaty.

While the first reduction target is set for 2025 when we require GHG emissions to be 26% below 2005 levels, we can’t assume it will happen without further energy policy changes. These changes must include increases in renewable energy generation beyond our current target of 75% by 2032. Since GHG reduction will mean electrification of a major part of our transportation and heating requirements, we need our electricity to be as carbon-free as well as locally generated as possible. Solar and wind energy generated near the demand for its use with energy storage capability will improve grid reliability and efficiency and provide well-paying jobs for Vermonters. Even before the Climate Council created by the bill develops the plan for carbon reduction, we can directly impact GHG emissions by continuing the EV incentives and residential weatherization assistance in the Governor’s budget.

While the Energy & Technology Committee will continue working on energy policy, other Committees in the House are also hard at work. Before the Town Meeting break several other committees will report out bills that should get a lot of attention.  One bill contains revisions to Act 250 that the Natural Resources, Fish & Wildlife Committee has been working on for two years. Another is the Senate bill on regulation and taxation of recreational marijuana that has been under consideration by the House Government Operations Committee since last year.

The Act 250 revision (H.926) seeks to exempt designated downtowns from Act 250 review and modify criteria to include climate adaptation and mitigation.  A controversial provision to create a statewide professional three-member Act 250 Review Board that would handle all major projects was eliminated by the House Ways and Means Committee as of this writing because of concerns that the provision would make it harder for public participation in the process. The Natural Resources Committee had proposed a hybrid system that would add two regional members of the project’s District Review Board to the three-member panel for major project consideration. Elimination of the provision reverts review back to the regional District Review Boards while retaining the environmental-oriented and downtown development changes.

The Cannabis Tax and Regulate bill (S.54) worked its way through the Government Operations and Ways and Means Committees and is now in the Appropriations Committee. The highlights of the bill’s provisions include creation of a Cannabis Control Board which will make recommendations for any legislation needed to implement the system starting in 2022, issue licenses, and control advertising, product quality and testing. To protect highway safety every law enforcement officer will receive 16 hours of training in impaired driving assessment by the end of 2021, and the number of Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) will be increased.  Field sobriety test results and Drug Recognition Expert evaluation results will be admissible in court. The proposal currently includes an excise tax of 14% and the sales tax of 6% on retail sales. Local option taxes will apply as well.  The 6% sales tax will go to the Education Fund which will help all towns.  

More information on these bills will be posted to my website. I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com), phone calls (802-233-5238), or in-person contacts.

The Word in the House 4/25/2019 - Legislative Timeline Is Getting Short

The time has come where we’re nearing the end of the legislative session and work needs to be completed on bills if they have any chance of being enacted in this session. For the House, this includes many Senate bills now under consideration.  These include bills for taxing and regulating recreational cannabis sales (S.54), increasing the minimum wage (S.23), requiring a 24-hour waiting period for handgun sales (S.169), and raising the age for buying tobacco products to 21 (S.86).  House bills waiting for similar action in the Senate include broadband development, taxing e-cigarettes, increasing weatherization assistance, increasing child care assistance, and paid family leave, not to mention the major money bills for capital spending, fees, transportation and the budget. Bills that were not passed before crossover (March 15^th) can have a second chance if their provisions are added to a bill that was passed by the other body and deals with the same topic.

The cannabis tax-and-regulate bill is now assigned to the House Government Operations Committee. Recently, Governor Scott stated that he would not sign the bill if it didn’t allow for roadside saliva sampling for THC levels.  The Senate did not include such testing because of the concerns that the results do not conclusively indicate impairment and because saliva testing impacts privacy. The House Judiciary Committee has been asked to review the appropriateness of including saliva testing before Gov Ops bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

The imposition of a 24-hour waiting period for handgun sales is also in House Judiciary.  About half of suicides are by gun and result in fatality 90% of the time compared to other methods.  Failed suicides by other means allow a victim to get counseling and treatment. A 24-hour delay can short-circuit an impulsive act that is irreversible. This bill passed the Senate as a compromise from the first draft requiring a 72-hour waiting period. Concerns about how a longer waiting period would impact gun shows led to the compromise since gun shows are usually held on weekends. One possible amendment being considered is to include long guns (rifles) in the waiting period.

Raising the age to purchase tobacco products to 21 has been passed by the House in previous years only to die in the Senate.  This year the Senate passed a Tobacco-21 bill and sent it to the House. A lot of progress has been made over the years in reducing smoking, especially among our youth. However, with the advent of vaping, addiction to nicotine is on the rise not only in high school but even in middle school. Raising the age for tobacco products would also apply to e-cigarettes and accessories. There is a long list of supporters of this bill, including the leadership of the Vermont National Guard, and the bill is likely to pass on a floor vote.

The House Energy and Technology Committee has possession of Senate bill S.95 which will allow municipal electric utilities like Washington Electric Co-op or the Stowe Town Electric Department to borrow amounts up to 50% of their assets without requiring a vote of their members. This provides our committee an opportunity to add language that will increase the allowable net metering capacity for school districts that have merged from 500 kW to 1,000 kW. This will provide merged school districts the ability to offset a greater amount of their electrical needs with renewable energy while saving taxpayers money.

And a quick note on the weatherization bill that would raise heating fuel prices by 2 cents per gallon. The Senate considers the fuel tax increase too onerous and is considering raising money for low-income weatherization another way.  Meanwhile, fuel oil prices went up 5 cents per gallon in the past month, two and a half times the fuel tax increase, and Vermonters are not getting any additional benefit from it. Did anyone notice? Just sayin’.

I welcome your emails (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com) or phone calls (802-233-5238).