The Legislature is fast-tracking a revised bill expanding the state’s medical marijuana program to Gov. Phil Murphy while the administration holds off on its own expansion plans in an effort to ease tensions over the move.
Assembly Bill and Senate Bill 20, which the lower house approved by 66-5 vote with 6 abstentions and the upper house approved in a 31-5 vote, retains many provisions of the original medical marijuana legislation.
A20 would also create a five-member Cannabis Regulatory Committee to oversee the state’s expansion medical marijuana program. The medical marijuana program would be first overseen by the Department of Health before being transitioned to the CRC, but the legislation does not specify a timeframe beyond “such time as the members of the commission are appointed and the commission first organizes.”
A week after state lawmakers delayed a vote on expanding medical marijuana in New Jersey over fears that Gov. Phil Murphy would veto the bill, a new plan to grow the program has emerged and legislators are moving quickly.
The state Assembly Appropriations Committee approved the bill Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 9-1 with one abstention. Both legislative houses, the Assembly and Senate, are expected to vote on the bill Thursday and send it to Murphy’s desk.
On May 13th New Jersey’s Department of Health (“DOH”) amended it Medicinal Marijuana Program Rules, N.J.A.C. 8:64 Et. Seq, establishing standards by which the DOH implements New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1, Et. Seq, assimilating Governor. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order #6 tasking the DOH with reviewing all Medicinal Marijuana Program (“Program”) aspects to expand access and eliminate bureaucratic barriers.
Senate Bill 3205 revises the state’s expungement procedures. Specifically, it expands the pool of crimes eligible for expungement and it establishes an expedited process for those with minor marijuana offenses to petition the court to have their records vacated.
Efforts to legalize cannabis in New Jersey have stalled in recent months as Senate and Assembly leadership negotiated details of the proposed legislation with Governor Murphy, who campaigned on the issue and pledged to enact legalization within his first 100 days in office.
Lawmakers on Monday sent Gov. Phil Murphy a bill setting up an expungement process for low-level cannabis offenses, even without a bill to legalize marijuana and with hesitation to move forward on another proposal to decriminalize cannabis.
The state Senate approved Senate Bill 3205 in a 24-12 vote and the Assembly approved its own version – Assembly Bill 4498 – in a 50-15 vote with six abstentions. The legislation is the only marijuana proposal that made its way to the governor’s desk.
NJ Advance Media has learned that Murphy has sent a memo to the bills sponsors and Democratic legislative leaders proposing a handful of changes to the bill, according to several sources close to the negotiations, but who haven’t been authorized to discuss them publicly.
Though legislative leaders are attempting to work with Gov. Phil Murphy on changes to a medical marijuana bill pulled from the board Monday, they aren’t making any promises.
“There’s no commitment to do any of the things that are in their request, only to look at it, and we have the luxury now of not having a bill that is already passed,” Coughlin told members of his caucus in a closed-door meeting Monday. “We have the luxury of making the change anyway, and we have 10 days before our next voting session, so let’s see what we can do.”
The wait continues for legislation to expand New Jersey’s medical marijuana program to reach Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk.
Lawmakers in the state Assembly were expected to vote Monday to send the bill to Murphy but the vote was pulled at the last minute due to possible changes being sought by the governor.
The bill has already been amended several times during the last several months and more changes would require votes by the full Assembly and Senate again before Murphy can act on it.