Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
05/08/2024 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HJR27 | |
SB182 | |
SB239 | |
SB182 | |
SB234 | |
SB115 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | HB 336 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED | ||
+ | SB 182 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | SB 234 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HJR 27 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SB 115 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | SB 239 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 234-EXTEND MARIJUANA CONTROL BOARD 4:15:47 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the next order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 234, "An Act relating to the Marijuana Control Board; and providing for an effective date." 4:16:04 PM SENATOR BJORKMAN, as prime sponsor, read the sponsor statement for SB 234 [included in the committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]: Senate Bill 234 proposes to extend the sunset date of the Marijuana Control Board (MCB) by three years. In October of 2023, our Division of Legislative Audit completed a sunset audit of the Board. In this audit, it was determined that overall, the Board has operated in the public's interest by conducting its meetings in accordance with state law, as well as actively amending regulations and conducting investigation in a timely manner. As you make an in-depth review the audit, you will see our auditor made note of three issues which should be addressed by the Board and the Legislature as it moves forward. First, AMCO's director should establish procedures to ensure handler permit documentation is properly maintained. Secondly, the MCB and AMCO's director should continue to implement a new license and enforcement information system. Thirdly, the legislature should consider requiring regulation changes be approved by the majority of the MCB members. Currently, the Board will sunset on June 30, 2024. To allow the Board to continue working in the public interest, SB 234 follows the recommended three-year extension to June 30, 2027. A three-year extension was made in recognition that there may soon be significant changes to the MCB and to AMCO duties. Additionally, this would align the next MCB audit with that of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board's next audit. I urge your support of this legislation. 4:17:59 PM JOAN WILSON, Director, Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, began her testimony by relating the numbers of cultivators and businesses in Alaska and that without the control board, she opined the industry would cease to exist. She said the board would be addressing its license fees, because the industry would have retained the money borrowed from the general fund. She noted that there is an advantage of aligning the sunset with the Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC). She explained that there would still be a need to regulate marijuana on a statewide basis even with the changes in regulations. She emphasized that the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) is a tight-knit, hardworking office and it was a privilege to serve Alaska. 4:20:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER spoke to the audit and asked whether the board had a role in enforcing collection of taxes. MS. WILSON replied no, but that the board had the ability to revoke licenses. She noted there are currently 300 defunct licenses and the board is working hard to collect the money. 4:22:08 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked how many vacant staff for license processing are at AMCO. She further inquired about how many overall staff there were. MS. WILSON replied that AMCO is recruiting for three licensing examiners and one administrative assistant. She added that it was due to the Title 4 rewrite. In response to a follow-up question, she replied that there are 24 positions at AMCO. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK said the audit related that licensing delays served as a barrier to the marijuana industry. She commented that if people cannot enter legally, or in time, there is a chance of them entering the market illegally. She offered her belief that filling the open positions is something that the legislature should make a high priority. MS. WILSON related that when she started two years ago, it took eight months to get to queued applications. She said AMCO re- prioritizes as much as it can to serve applicants. She stated that the good news is that the queue has improved. 4:25:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE moved to report SB 234 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, SB 234 was reported out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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SB 239 Amendment Packet.pdf |
HL&C 5/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
SB 239 |
S.pdf |
HL&C 5/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
SB 239 |
SB115 Amendment Packet 1.0.pdf |
HL&C 5/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
SB 115 |
SB115 Medical Profession Hours Comparison 5.8.2024.pdf |
HL&C 5/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
SB 115 |