[I]n the week since Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill that would have legalized marijuana, members of the administration, legislators and advocates are working to figure out the next steps.
While rejecting S.22, which would have allowed adult possession of limited amounts of the drug, Scott offered up suggestions for how the legislation could be changed to win his approval.
Scott says it could be possible to address his concerns and pass legislation when lawmakers return to Montpelier in June for a special two-day veto session. The Legislature is expected to reconvene to deal with his promised veto of the state budget.
The pot legislation, which would have taken effect in July 2018, would allow people to grow a handful of plants at home. It also created a commission charged with exploring setting up a regulated retail pot market in Vermont.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a key proponent of the bill, said he has had conversations with members of the governor’s staff and other legislators about how to move forward.
“Right now, we’re preparing legislation and working with others,” Sears said.
Sears said he is open to Scott’s proposed changes, including strengthening penalties for supplying marijuana to people younger than 21 and restricting its use by passengers in vehicles.
The senator has some concerns about proposals to change search and seizure laws, because under the bill possession of less than an ounce of pot would not necessarily be grounds for a search.
Scott also proposed changing the makeup of the commission that would study regulation to put greater focus on public safety, according to Sears. The governor’s proposal would put more members of his administration on the commission. Sears said he sees that point as negotiable.
Late last week, members of Scott’s staff met with five pro-legalization advocates.
“I’m glad that we had the chance to talk,” said Eli Harrington, of Heady Vermont. “I wish it had happened in March instead of May.”
Harrington appreciated the opportunity to discuss the governor’s proposed changes. But he said there is a long way to go.
“I think it’s important to recognize that it’s going to take a fair amount of political will on his part, I think, to help the Legislature do some extraordinary mechanical maneuvering again,” Harrington said.
Even if lawmakers can put together legislation that meets Scott’s suggestions, the bill may be blocked from passage during the veto session because of parliamentary procedure, according to Sears.
“This still doesn’t change the fact that the governor vetoed the bill and any new bill needs to go through both chambers of the Legislature,” Sears said.
The issue, Sears said, is in the House, where there likely is not enough support for marijuana legalization to allow the chamber to bypass rules. Without a rules suspension, it will not be possible to complete the bill within a two-day time frame, Sears said.
“No matter what vehicle you use, it requires a rules suspension on the part of the House,” Sears said. Unless something changes, he said, “I don’t see that happening.”
Many House Republicans don’t see a need to rush work on the pot bill.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, who offered several amendments to the bill when it came before the House in May, said she agreed with many of the governor’s suggestions for changes.
She would support putting those ideas through the legislative committee process when lawmakers return in January for the second half of the biennium. However, she does not see how that work could happen during a June veto session.
“We’re talking about a bill that’s supposed to go into effect July of 2018,” she said. “I don’t see any reason to rush.”
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Scott said differences still need to be ironed out on the pot bill.
“Let’s see if we can get to a resolution first,” Scott said.
If the administration and legislative leadership reach an agreement, Scott said, he will reach out to House Republicans about potentially allowing the rules to be suspended to let the bill move forward.
“I’m not sure that I’ll have the power to change the minority leadership’s mind on this, but I’ll advocate for it depending on what happens,” he said.
If the bill does not make it through the Legislature in June, he said, he would consider creating a commission to study pot legalization through an executive order — an idea floated by Sears.
“I made a commitment to work on this issue regardless of what happens in this veto session,” Scott said.
At this point, according to House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, House leadership has not had substantive conversations with the administration about the pot bill.
There is a potential for the issue to come up again when lawmakers are back next month, she said. However, she was clear that the primary focus of the veto session will be resolving the impasse over the state budget and teachers’ health care negotiations.
“We have few different possible avenues,” she said. “But our bigger responsibility is to make sure that we have a state budget on July 1 and that our schools are funded.”
(Correction: The governor did not meet last week with advocates of legalization; only his staffers did. An earlier version of this story mistakenly said he had.)
/