CLOUDED IN $ECRECY

PASSING WEED BILL TODAY, GOV, AG, TREASURER REFUSE TO REVEAL POT PANEL CANDIDATES

The state’s recreational pot law set to go on the books today is already cloaked in secrecy, with the governor, attorney general and treasurer refusing to divulge candidates vying for the five coveted six-figure gigs on the Cannabis Control Commission.

Gov. Charlie Baker is scheduled to sign the marijuana measure at a State House photo op at noon — but his office announced no questions will be taken.

Baker, state Attorney General Maura Healey and state Treasurer Deb Goldberg must appoint pot panel members by Sept. 1 — with the board commissioner eligible to pull down $160,000 and junior members $120,000 annually over their fiveyear terms.

Baker, Healey and Goldberg staffers declined the Herald’s request yesterday for the names of potential candidates. Goldberg’s office supplied a list of about a dozen unsolicited applicants back in April while the landmark legislation was still being hotly debated.

That lack of transparency has fiscal watchdogs fearing a serious absence of openness right out of the gate.

“I don’t understand why the governor and attorney general have not revealed the names of the people they’re considering for this post, considering the fact that the commission has to be up and running in the next few weeks and these are highly paid positions with important responsibilities,” said David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute. “Why we can’t find out who the governor and attorney general are considering is mystifying.”

The commission must create its own bureaucracy for pot shops and weed growers under a $2 million budget Goldberg has estimated would actually take at least $10 million.

Pot law proponent Jim Borghesani said the “very powerful board” should have “the most qualified” applicants appointed.

“It’s a very big job, especially at the beginning, that’s why we want people devoted to setting up an effective industry,” he said.

But those broad powers and the commission’s structure — modeled after the state Gaming Commission — is a fatal flaw, according to Gregory W. Sullivan, research director for the Pioneer Institute.

Sullivan said the Gaming Commission was criticized early on after holding more than 100 hours of secret meetings that were off-limits to the public. The casino board was also dogged over high pay for members.

“I just don’t think it’s justified to pay commissioners a full-time salary of $120,000 a year to be on the commission,” Sullivan said. “It isn’t the Normandy invasion, you know.”

The new compromise pot law will carry a 20 percent tax, allocate 75 growing licenses early on and hand out pot shop permits.

The law was approved by 1.8 million voters at the ballot box last year. Since then it’s been kicked around the state Legislature. An unpaid cannabis advisory board must also be rolled out by Tuesday, the law states.

By this time next year, the Cannabis Control Commission must be ready for the doors of pot shops to open.