Also on Friday, incoming House Rules Committee Chair Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said that he anticipates several pieces of marijuana reform legislation to move in the Democratic-led House of Representatives in 2019. As reported by "The Boston Globe," McGovern promised to permit federal lawmakers to debate and vote on marijuana-related amendments when he assumes control of the Committee in January. "Unlike my predecessor, I'm not going to block amendments for marijuana," he said. "Citizens are passing ballot initiatives, legislatures are passing laws, and we need to respect that. Federal laws and statutes are way behind."
Rep. McGovern replaces outgoing Rules Chair Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Colin Allred. Jeff Sessions used his position as chairman of the House Rules Committee to block House floor members from voting on over three-dozen marijuana-related amendments during his leadership tenure. His actions single-handedly killed a number of popular, bipartisan-led reforms - such as facilitating medical cannabis access to military veterans and amending federal banking laws so that licensed marijuana businesses are treated like other legal industries.
Rep. McGovern indicated that he would prioritize legislative measures that limit federal interference in legal marijuana states, expand medical cannabis access for veterans, and amend federal banking restrictions on the legal cannabis industry.
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