[T]he Senate gave final approval to a bill that legalizes recreational marijuana Thursday, sending the measure to the House on a vote of 17 to 12.
The bill would allow Vermonters to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use, and would create a system of licensed growers and retailers through the state.
But legalization, which Gov. Peter Shumlin outlined as one of his priorities in his state of the state address, still faces a tough slog in the House.
On the second day of floor debate in the Senate, lawmakers fielded two amendments that would have delayed implementation of various aspects of the bill.
One, from Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, would have postponed implementation by a year — marijuana sales would have been permitted beginning in January 2019, instead of January 2018. Lyons said the delay was needed to establish prevention and education measures.
The Senate Appropriations Committee opposed the amendment. Committee Chair Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia, who did not support the bill, said that the committee wouldn’t support the Lyons amendment. Kitchel said it would require the state to spend more money on implementation before tax revenues became available.
Lyons withdrew the amendment. Another amendment, to delay the application process for marijuana distributors was voted down.
Lawmakers did approve an amendment from Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex-Orleans, and Sen. David Zuckerman, P/D-Chittenden, to allow for smaller-scale growing operations.
Rodgers and Zuckerman’s amendment created 10 licenses at a smaller size than previously allowed the bill — capped at 1,000 square feet each.
It adds up to the same number of square-footage as the previous version of the bill, but raises slightly more revenue, Rodgers said.
The amendment was enough to swing Sen. Rebecca Balint, D-Windham, to support the bill. Balint voted against the legislation Wednesday because she it didn’t support small-scale and home growers.
Other senators remained resolute in their opposition to the bill.
Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, said on the floor that he wouldn’t support the legalization measure because he didn’t believe the bill would be good for Vermont public safety or public health.
“I’m not sure that this bill at this time is good medicine for the state of Vermont,” Bray said.
Lt. Gov. Phil Scott criticized the bill in a statement after the vote.
“In my opinion, this bill is as much about the money as it is about ending a failed prohibition, and this major policy shift should not be about money and commercialization,” Scott said.
Despite the opposition, the bill picked up one extra vote Thursday. The Senate sent it to the House on a vote of 17 to 12.
The vote happened days after a poll by Vermont Public Radio and the Castleton Polling Institute showed that 55 percent of respondents support legalization, compared to 32 percent who oppose it.
http://digital.vpr.net/post/vpr-poll-majority-vermonters-say-legalize-pot#stream/0
The bill faces a challenge in the House.
House Speaker Shap Smith said Thursday that he is not sure that there is sufficient support in the House to move the bill forward this year.
“I think most people believe that the policy we have in place now is not working,” Smith said. “I think the question that has to be answered is will the alternative that has come over from the Senate address the areas where the policy isn’t working.”
The bill’s first stop in the lower body will be the House Judiciary Committee. Smith said it will likely be three or four weeks before that committee begins work on S.241.
The committee, headed by Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown, is currently wrapping up work on several other bills, including a driver’s license suspension reform bill and a traffic safety bill, before the March 11 crossover deadline.
The bill will likely go through the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees. Other committees may look at the legislation as well.
He has also been considering how to hold hearings, perhaps in the well of the House, he said.
Smith noted that the bill is not coming from the Senate “with a ton of momentum.”
“I think we’re trying to be creative in how we look at this knowing that there’s going to be a lot of interest,” Smith said.
