After coming close in 2019, Connecticut lawmakers will make another push in 2020 to regulate and tax marijuana for recreational use.
The leaders of three key legislative committees met last week to discuss the effort, said Rep. Jason Rojas, chairman of the finance, revenue and bonding committee.
“There’s still some uncertainty about how much support there is in the legislature,” said Rojas, a Democrat from East Hartford. “It will be incumbent on [legalization supporters] to convince our colleagues that this is the right thing to do."
Last year, advocates crafted a package of bills that would have legalized and taxed recreational marijuana while addressing the profound toll criminalization has taken on Latinos and African Americans.
One of the bills would have expunged arrest records for people charged with minor drug offenses. It also included provisions designed to ensure minority entrepreneurs have an entry point into the multimillion-dollar marijuana industry by granting them first access to cultivation and other types of licenses.
That bill never came up for a vote and some supporters said Connecticut ought to pursue a different path to legaliztion, such as amending the state constitution to allow the matter to be put directly before the voters.
But others believe the legislature ought to try again. The Senate Democratic caucus will outline its marijuana legalization proposal on Thursday.
Sen. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, said the equity provision will be a key component of the bill.
"Equity, expungement and economic opportunity for marginalized communities: all three are clearly important,'' McCrory said.
Last week, Rhode Island’s Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo presented her plan, which calls for a state-controlled network of dispensaries.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, included a marijuana legalization proposal in his budget.
Gov. Ned Lamont has spoken in favor of legalizing marijuana for adults in the past.
“He remains committed to working with neighboring governors and members of the legislature to develop the best approach" to legalization, said Rob Blanchard, a spokesman for the governor.
Republicans have strongly opposed legalization efforts in the past and House GOP leader Themis Klarides said she expects that to continue.
“That is not something you would typically push through in a short session,” Klarides said. “They don’t think they’re going to get tolls passed ... so now they’re jumping on this ... they have to find a way to get money somehow.”
The legislative session begins Feb. 5 and adjourns May 6.
Klarides said Connecticut should wait several years, giving officials here time to study the ramifications in other states that have legalized marijuana for adults, such as Massachusetts and Maine.
McCrory, who will present the Senate Democrats’ legalization bill on Thursday, agreed that winning passage this year could prove challenging.
“It’s a short session, an election year and you have issues around tolling,” McCrory said. “That’s a lot for some people — not all people — to chew on.”
Daniela Altimari can be reached at dnaltimari@courant.com.
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