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Following the passage of a marijuana legalization bill on Thursday by New Hampshire\u2019s House of Representatives<\/a>, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is signaling that he\u2019s against the legislation in its current form but could still ultimately get on board if changes are made in the Senate.<\/p>\n The comments from the governor\u2019s office came in response to the House\u2019s 239\u2013136 approval of HB 1633, sponsored by Rep. Erica Layon (R). The measure would legalize and regulate marijuana through state-licensed \u201cagency stores,\u201d but Sununu has said he wants to see a state-run or state-franchised model that would give the government control over the look and feel of each store as well as product prices.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Sununu has been crystal clear about the framework needed for a legalization bill to earn his support, focusing on harm reduction and keeping it out of kids\u2019 hands,\u201d his office said in a statement to local news outlet WMUR after Thursday\u2019s vote. \u201cThe legislation passed today doesn\u2019t get us there but the Governor looks forward to working with the Senate to see if we can get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n Layon, the bill\u2019s sponsor, said she\u2019s repeatedly reached out to the Sununu\u2019s office in recent months to discuss provisions of the proposal. But so far she\u2019s been snubbed by the governor, even as his office communicates with other lawmakers about the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bill that passed the House reflects the Governor\u2019s guidelines as I understood them, until his last minute embrace of a franchise model,\u201d she told Marijuana Moment on Friday. \u201cI made dozens of attempts to meet with the Governor and his staff to get into the policy details, but the best meeting I achieved was a walk-and-talk with him through the halls of the Capitol.\u201d<\/p>\n The situation has pitted Republicans against Republicans, with Layon and supporters at odds with Sununu and his allies in the Senate. Failure to reach agreement could threaten the legalization bill entirely despite what appears to be majority support for the policy change.<\/p>\n Statement from the office of @GovChrisSununu<\/a> indicating he wants to see @TheNHSenate<\/a> go to work on the cannabis legalization bill the @NHHouseofReps<\/a> approved today rather than simply declare it DOA #NHPolitics<\/a> #WMUR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SdBkWOKbq0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) April 11, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In a choice between the two competing models, a House subcommittee earlier this month rejected a sweeping amendment that would have replaced Layon\u2019s plan with a franchise model<\/a>. That amendment was offered by subcommittee vice chair Rep. Dan McGuire (R) despite him telling the panel he didn\u2019t entirely agree with the proposed changes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are told from the governor and from our contacts in the Senate that this is what they want: the franchise model,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cWe are also told they will not vote for the version the House passed, and we are told that they are either unwilling or incapable of making significant changes in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n Sununu\u2019s latest comments suggest he believes the Senate can in fact make those changes.<\/p>\n But Layon now says adjustments backed by Senate Republicans like Sen. Daryl Abbas\u2014who chaired a failed state commission on legalization late last year<\/a>\u2014may not find support in the House if an amended version of her bill makes it back to the chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cDozens of House members will not accept the language rejected by the House Finance committee,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a real danger that the House may not accept what comes back from the Senate,\u201d Layon added, \u201cso I look forward to talking with my colleagues to ensure that anything we receive can pass without a Committee of Conference.\u201d<\/p>\n Layon has spent months workshopping and building support for the plan despite warnings from some in the Senate\u2014most notably Abbas\u2014that her proposal will be dead on arrival unless it includes a state-run franchise system under which the government would control the look, feel and general operations of retail stores.<\/p>\n But House lawmakers have decided to stick with Layon\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n Rep. Chuck Grassie (D) applauded Layon at an earlier subcommittee hearing for what what he called \u201ca Herculean effort\u2026to get the governor and the Senate on board.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Senate has problems with passing a bill, I don\u2019t see why we have to do their hard work here for them,\u201d Grassie said at the time. \u201cI think they need to debate this. They need to make up their mind on a bill, and they need to send something back to us if we want to see cannabis legalization in the state of New Hampshire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Layon has previously told Marijuana Moment that she never expected her proposal to be the only bill introduced this session to legalize marijuana.<\/p>\n \u201cI initially intended that this bill sort of be a counterpoint to what the special committee was going to deliver and what Sen. Abbas was going to introduce,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact that he didn\u2019t introduce it and this is the only shot at legalization this year, I just really wanted to work hard in a good faith effort to get to something that I was comfortable with and that match the requirements of the governor as best I understood them.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor said at a recent event, meanwhile, that he thinks legalization is \u201cinevitable\u201d in New Hampshire, adding that policymakers have \u201cseen the mistakes other states have made so as not to walk down that path.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just want the accessibility for adults, keeping it away from kids,\u201d Sununu said. \u201cIf they can meet those rough stipulations, I would sign it, because I think that\u2019s one of the safest systems you\u2019re going to get.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that as a legalization skeptic, he\u2019s better positioned to consider a thoughtful bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no better person to help design a system that could be fraught with problems and risk specifically to kids than the guy that\u2019s most scared of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Last year Sununu said he supported a system of state-run retail stores, but lawmakers on a state study commission last year instead pivoted to the idea of a franchise system, which the governor has said he\u2019s willing to entertain. Officials at the Liquor Commission have said it would be far less costly for private franchisees to build out a system of retail stores than to ask the Liquor Commission to take on that task itself.<\/p>\n Lawmakers worked extensively on marijuana reform issues last session and attempted to reach a compromise to enact legalization through a multi-tiered system that would include state-controlled shops, dual licensing for existing medical cannabis dispensaries and businesses privately licensed to individuals by state agencies. The legislature ultimately\u00a0hit an impasse on the complex legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bicameral lawmakers also convened the state commission tasked with studying legalization and proposing a path forward last year, though the group\u00a0ultimately failed to arrive at a consensus or propose final legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Senate\u00a0defeated a more conventional House-passed legalization bill last year, HB 639, despite its bipartisan support<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last May, the House defeated marijuana legalization language that was included in a Medicaid expansion bill. The Senate also moved to table another piece of legislation that month that would have allowed patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings for personal therapeutic use.<\/p>\n After the Senate rejected the reform bills in 2022, the House included legalization language as an amendment to separate criminal justice-related legislation\u2014but\u00a0that was also struck down in the opposite chamber<\/a>.<\/p>\n These Marijuana Companies Are Funding Florida\u2019s Legalization Ballot Campaign, New Records Show<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post New Hampshire Governor Indicates He Won\u2019t Sign House-Passed Marijuana Legalization Bill Unless Senate Makes Changes<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Following the passage of a marijuana legalization bill on Thursday by New Hampshire\u2019s House of Representatives, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is signaling that he\u2019s against the legislation in its current form but could still ultimately get on board if changes are made in the Senate. The comments from the governor\u2019sContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":74097,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74096"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74098,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74096\/revisions\/74098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: New Hampshire Governor Indicates He Won\u2019t Sign House-Passed Marijuana Legalization Bill Unless Senate Makes Changes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"