While the General Assembly was able to pass a new budget before Wednesday’s midnight adjournment, a bill legalizing the adult use of cannabis was not able to make it in time. Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives said they would take up that and other bills in a special legislative session.
Their decision comes after Republican House members who oppose the legislation were expected to run out the clock by continuing to debate the bill until the legislature’s deadline.
“Because we were not allowed to do the business we needed to do today, every item to me is open for consideration in the special session,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, acknowledging the list could be expansive. “They should have allowed us to vote. So, that’s how it’s going to be.”
The special session could happen within the next couple weeks, said Ritter.
Despite their concerns with the marijuana bill, there was some GOP support for the budget deal that Democratic legislative leaders reached with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. Twenty-two House and eight Senate Republicans voted for the bill, some lauding it for not increasing taxes, something progressive Democrats had sought early on in the legislative session to address long-standing racial and economic inequities.
“The state of Connecticut is not in a position to begin looking at revenue, especially at a time when families are suffering,” said House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, who voted for the bill. “Our economy is trying to recover and we’re not sure where we’re going to be a year from now when the federal dollars start to dissipate and maybe show the real landscape of what our economy looks like.”
New York State recently legalized the sale of and recreational adult use of marijuana, and Massachusetts OK’d both in 2016.
Federal banking laws currently create challenges for lenders seeking to offer marijuana banking services across state lines, creating openings for community banks and credit unions to serve what has traditionally been a cash-based business.
