COMPROMISE FOR MARIJUANA BILL
Committee agrees to tax of 20%
Jim Borghesani, right, spokesman for the legalization of marijuana ballot question, said he was pleased legislators reached a compromise but that ‘we would not want to see any more delays because of inadequate funding.’
More than two weeks after blowing their selfimposed deadline to create a marijuana bill, state representatives and senators reached a compromise that would tax pot by as much as 20 percent.
A committee of three state reps and three state senators had been working to merge House and Senate bills with significant differences. The tax amount was a major point of contention, with the Senate bill calling for a tax of 10 percent to 12 percent — in line with what the 2016 ballot question legalizing marijuana called for — while the House bill looked for a levy of up to 28 percent.
The bill, which still needs to be voted on by the Legislature and be approved by Gov. Charlie Baker, will place a 6.25 percent sales tax and a 10.75 percent excise tax on pot sales. And it will allow individual cities and towns to tack on their own 3 percent tax.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing for us is to roll this market out,” said state Sen. William N. Brownsberger (D-Belmont). “A little bit higher tax rate will help us do that.”
Baker said he had not seen the bill, but said officials could alter the tax rate if necessary.
“We’ve said all along we want the tax rate to be high enough to cover administering the program. If the rate turns out to be too high based on how much it costs to actually do all those things, the commonwealth should be willing to adjust it downward and if it’s too low, we should be willing to adjust it upward,” Baker said.
Officials also differed on whether local officials would be able to ban pot sales in their communities or if they would have to put bans to a public vote. The compromise bill splits the difference — if residents of a community approved the 2016 ballot question legalizing pot, any ban proposal would also have to go on a local ballot question. But if residents voted against legalization, local officials can ban sales on their own.
“It’s a preservation of the voters’ voice,” said state Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville.)
Jim Borghesani, spokesman for the legalization ballot question, said he was pleased legislators reached a compromise instead of adopting the House’s proposal, but cautioned that the state’s five-member Cannabis Control Commission needs additional funding beyond the $2 million budgeted to get up and running.
“We would not want to see more delays because of inadequate funding,” Borghesani said, adding that additional dollars would be a “pressure point” for advocates.