Bipartisan Pennsylvania Senators Announce New Marijuana Legalization Plan, Criticizing Governor’s Proposed Cannabis Tax Rate As Too High
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Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators are soliciting support from colleagues for a forthcoming marijuana legalization bill they plan to introduce soon.
Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) are once again teaming up on the reform proposal, as they have in past session. And the circulation of their co-sponsorship memo on Tuesday comes amid escalated pressure from advocates to move forward on legalization and another call for the policy change in the governor’s latest budget request.
“While Pennsylvania has made significant strides in legalizing medical marijuana, adult-use legalization would provide more access for patients who benefit from marijuana but may not qualify under current medical marijuana criteria,” the senators wrote in the new memo. “Legalization also helps strengthen the state’s marijuana infrastructure, ensuring that both medical and adult-use programs can operate safely and efficiently.”
Laughlin and Street said the legalization measure promotes public health and safety, while combating the illicit cannabis market “where safety standards are non-existent.”
“It would help end the criminalization of marijuana users, particularly in communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana-related arrests. By removing the penalties for adult-use and possession, we reduce the burden on law enforcement and the court system. Additionally, we can provide pathways to expunge prior marijuana convictions for individuals who have been arrested for possession in the past, allowing them a fairer chance at employment and participation in society.”
It further points out the economic opportunity of enacting a regulated and taxed system of marijuana sales—benefits that they note are already being repeated in surrounding states that have moved to legalize.
“As these neighboring states continue to benefit from legalization, it is vital that Pennsylvania follows suit to remain competitive and prevent the outflow of tax revenue and economic opportunities across state lines,” they wrote.
Notably, both the Republican and Democratic sponsors jointly criticized one key component of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) marijuana budget proposal: the collective 26 percent tax rate on cannabis products that’s being proposed.
“Taxing adult-use marijuana at 26 percent will likely continue to drive individuals to the illicit market as well as to surrounding states with more competitive pricing,” the lawmakers said. “An overly burdensome tax rate undermines the legal market’s ability to compete and incentivize consumers to transition away from unregulated sources.”
This has been a recurring criticism of the governor, who projected in his latest budget request this month that the state stood to generate $536.5 million from legal cannabis sales under his plan, which involves a relatively high tax rate for marijuana compared to other state cannabis markets.
In a press release on Tuesday, Laughlin said that ending “outdated criminal penalties is a crucial step toward justice,” adding that the bill “also offers a pathway to expunge past marijuana possession convictions, giving individuals a fair chance at employment and community reintegration.”
Last week, top Pennsylvania police and health officials told lawmakers they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization if the legislature moves forward with the reform—and that they stand ready to work together as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.
Meanwhile, amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, a GOP state senator says prohibition has been a “disaster,” and a regulated sales model for cannabis—similar to how alcohol and tobacco are handled—could serve as an effective alternative.
Voters are ready to see that policy change, according to a poll released last week.
The survey, commissioned by the advocacy group ResponsiblePA, found that nearly 7 in 10 voters in the state support the reform—including a majority of Republicans. And 63 percent want to see the legislature enact the reform this year, rather than delaying it.
“The leadership from Senator Laughlin and Senator Street through the introduction of bi-partisan legislation meaningfully advances adult-use legalization in Pennsylvania,” ResponsiblePA’s Brit Crampsie said in a press release about the new cosponsorship memo. “In addition to being an extremely popular policy among all Pennsylvania voters with a recent poll showing 74 percent of voters supporting the legalization of adult-use cannabis, this bill comes at an important moment when this year’s budget calls for passage.”
“This issue is no longer just about what Pennsylvanians want—it’s about what the state needs to meet revenue projections,” she said.
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While Shapiro once again included a proposal to enact cannabis legalization in his latest budget request, there’s been mixed feedback from legislators—some of whom want to see the governor more proactively come to the table to discuss possible pathways for reform and others skeptical about the possibility of advancing the issue this session.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R), for example, said this week that he doesn’t “see any path whatsoever” to enacting legalization in line with the governor’s plan.
At the same time, the state secretary for the Department of Revenue has predicted that Shapiro’s proposal could be passed during the current budget cycle, indicating that he feels reform could start to be implemented within months.
House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D), meanwhile, said following the governor’s budget speech that “there is real diversity of opinions among our members,” likely referencing split perspectives on regulatory models, with some lawmakers pushing for a state-run cannabis program.
He also said recently that he feels the time is ripe to advance marijuana reform this session, saying “it strikes me as abdicating our responsibility to protect our communities and our children, and at the same time, we are losing revenue that is going to go into our neighboring states.”
Key lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the governor’s ability to see through the cannabis reform he’s proposing, however.
“The governor needs to lead on something. If he wants something done, he needs to lead on it,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R) said. “He can’t throw an idea out there—which he did last year—and say, ‘Let the legislature figure it out. I’ll sign it. Then I’ll go do press conferences all over the state.’”
House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R) was also asked about the prospect of enacting various of the governor’s budget proposals, including marijuana. And he said while he’s “not going to speak for the governor,” there’s “one person that has the ability to bring those deals together—and that is the governor.”
He referenced recent remarks from Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) who said there are logistical challenges to advancing legalization that he’s unsure lawmakers will be able to overcome.
The feedback from GOP lawmakers is reminiscent of earlier criticism from the caucus about the governor, who they’ve claimed has made the call for reform without meaningfully engaging with the legislature about how to get it done.
Also, the new Republican state attorney general of Pennsylvania recently raised concerns about the “potential harm that could be caused criminally” by enacting the reform.
The Republican chair of a key Senate committee recently said he’s expecting to take up legislation this year that would make Pennsylvania the 25th in the U.S. to legalize adult-use marijuana. He also thinks that more of his GOP colleagues could get on board with the reform soon than have in the past.
While many legalization advocates and observers think Pennsylvania is among the most likely states to pass a recreational marijuana law this session, the devil is in the details. One lawmaker has floated a relatively simple bill to decriminalize personal possession, while two others plan to introduce more sweeping legislation that would legalize through a state-run system of stores.
Laughlin last spring introduced a bill meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms. While it didn’t move forward, the lawmaker said in the recent interview that he believes political support for legalization more broadly has been building.
The senator said an event last May that the state is “getting close” to legalizing marijuana, but the job will only get done if House and Senate leaders sit down with the governor and “work it out.”
Reps. Dan Frankel (D) and Rick Krajewski (D) announced in December that they planned to file legalization legislation, emphasizing that there’s a “moral obligation” to repair harms of criminalization while also raising revenue as neighboring state markets mature.
Frankel said sponsors hope for a vote on the bill “sometime early spring,” though questions remain as to whether the legislature would be willing to get behind the push to end cannabis prohibition, especially through the state-run sales model he is proposing.
A separate decriminalization measure, meanwhile, from Pennsylvania Rep. Danilo Burgos (D), would make simple possession of cannabis a summary offense punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. Currently, low-level possession is considered a misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to 30 days in jail, a maximum $500 fine or both.
Additionally, in September, bipartisan Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Kinkead formally introduced a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors.
In July, the governor said his administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
As for medical marijuana, the governor in October signed a bill to correct an omission in a law that unintentionally excluded dispensaries from state-level tax relief for the medical marijuana industry.
About three months after the legislature approved the underlying budget bill that Shapiro signed containing tax reform provisions as a partial workaround to a federal ban on tax deductions for cannabis businesses, the Pennsylvania legislature passed corrective legislation.
Separately, at a Black Cannabis Week event hosted recently by the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO) in October, Street and Reps. Chris Rabb (D), Amen Brown (D), Darisha Parker (D) and Napoleon Nelson (D) joined activists to discuss their legislative priorities and motivations behind advancing legalization in the Keystone State.
Other lawmakers have also emphasized the urgency of legalizing as soon as possible given regional dynamics, while signaling that legislators are close to aligning House and Senate proposals.
As for cannabis and gun ownership, Laughlin had been looking at the issue for more than a year before introducing last year’s bill, writing last February to the state’s acting police commissioner to “strongly encourage” he review a federal ruling that the U.S. government’s ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana is unconstitutional.
Since then, further federal court cases have questioned the constitutionality of the federal firearm ban. A federal judge in El Paso, for example, recently ruled that the ongoing ban on gun ownership by habitual marijuana users was unconstitutional in the case of a defendant who earlier pleaded guilty to the criminal charge. The court allowed the man to withdraw the plea and ordered that the indictment against him be dismissed.
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