[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6598445,"mediaKeyId","3039508-81770dc551e776d2982a167ebd8463aa","parentId",3039508,"title","Cannabis regulator builds reference lab, warns of hemp loopholes and licensing strain as industry expands","audioSeconds",2114,"startMs",3456000,"endMs",5570000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3039508-81770dc551e776d2982a167ebd8463aa&start=3456&end=5570","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3039508-81770dc551e776d2982a167ebd8463aa/thumbnail_3456000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6598445/Michigan/Cannabis-regulator-builds-reference-lab-warns-of-hemp-loopholes-and-licensing-strain-as-industry-expands","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598445-a8e7a61509e1eb51a316a519fb440d83/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148608&Signature=J6HWomqws6niCYs6xaoi05gZM8S8yRclMvwLhH7Mnc6lu7opIqcbvcRl-dy9rCJThRPWSRzkfN-MVX0D37a575MkViH6LKsO~vUC4j1rxL0aZxFVUo5HH0ti0hb08DayinNBcTOhVAnxHkbwZUgDkY45oje4Otsbp-xbJK2PX4TrhzGbaW1ri7OG08ZrRUUXYdzQe5H17h91XsjPHViN7ris~p5-QhQWFz7VIrh89BY6BTMTsiByfVYQjFDnf-N0Eq8yOgrGcoI-RxQhTR5mBqALyzOdE7NDKu~KUAu97XzCAwwgfOybBPCA9IRRBvOAh~hnLzeMfAVjeHodqQBDNA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan Legislature","date","2025-04-17T14:52:26.89Z","article","At a meeting of the Michigan House Operations subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) Executive Director Brian Hanna described rapid growth in Michigan’s regulated cannabis market, new enforcement and oversight work and the agency’s plan to open a state reference laboratory to support testing, investigations and public-safety work.

Hanna said the CRA now oversees more than 4,000 business licenses and added nine FTEs in fiscal 2025 to handle inspection, disciplinary and customer-service demands following an August 2023 Office of the Attorney General audit that flagged timeliness concerns. The CRA’s operating expenses are paid from restricted funds — application, license and renewal fees tied to statutory programs — not the general fund.

“We have now over 4,000 business licenses in the state of Michigan,” Hanna said, describing exponential license growth since 2021. He said more licenses have produced more complaints, inspections and disciplinary work; the CRA reported issuing approximately 634 disciplinary actions in 2024 and 5,396 educational warnings.

Hanna told lawmakers the agency is constructing a reference laboratory in existing CRA space to reduce investigation time, avoid overreliance on private licensed labs for regulatory investigations and provide an independent scientific resource. He said the lab is ahead of schedule and will help the agency “call balls and strikes on what’s real and what’s not with science.”

The CRA identified two enforcement challenges lawmakers should note. First, a 2024 legal challenge undermined the agency’s ability to carry out summary suspensions, meaning the CRA must often adjudicate misconduct without a quick suspension tool; Hanna said rule-language changes are planned to restore a stronger summary-suspension mechanism. Second, he warned that loopholes in federal hemp law and the 2018 Farm Bill have enabled manufacturers to create novel intoxicating cannabinoids and hemp-derived products that may evade regulation and enter consumer channels normally served by regulated retailers.

“These are chemicals we have never seen before in this planet’s existence,” Hanna said, describing novel substances produced under current federal and state hemp frameworks. He showed an example of an unregulated product sold in a liquor store and said it would not meet regulated-market limits.

CRA policy and legislative assistant Derek Soba told members the department contracted with vendors and used FY24 budget authority to start building the lab; statutory authority to possess and transport marijuana for lab use remains a separate legislative issue that previously failed to advance to become law. Hanna and Soba said the budget included funding for the lab’s construction, but staff will seek statutory language to allow CRA employees to handle marijuana evidence and streamline accreditations once the lab is ready.

Members asked about impaired-driving science, public-safety uses for the lab and advertising controls. Hanna said the lab could support law enforcement testing for fentanyl contamination and other illicit adulterants and that the CRA has joined the Michigan Impaired Driving Task Force to address scientific gaps in detecting current impairment from cannabinoids.

Hanna asked for legislative help on multiple fronts, including clarifying statutory authority where ballot initiative language limits agency action and considering changes to the state hemp statute to address products created under the federal Farm Bill. The CRA said it will continue outreach to municipalities and maintain industry education sessions; the agency highlighted a veteran-focused initiative and ongoing efforts to support micro businesses and reduce unnecessary retail infrastructure costs.

The subcommittee adjourned after the CRA presentation and a brief question-and-answer period.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appropriations: Subcommittee on LARA and Insurance and Financial Services - 4/17/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Cannabis Regulatory Agency told a House subcommittee it is building a state reference laboratory and requested rule changes to restore summary-suspension authority after legal challenges, while flagging novel intoxicating hemp-derived products created under the 2018 Farm Bill as an emerging public-health risk.","taxTitle","2025 House Legislature MI, Michigan","taxId",77683,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6598450,"DIFS asks for $1.63 million in restricted funds to add five staff amid higher complaints, cyber threats",2970,410000,3380000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3039508-81770dc551e776d2982a167ebd8463aa&start=410&end=3380","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3039508-81770dc551e776d2982a167ebd8463aa/thumbnail_410000.jpg","/articles/6598450/Michigan/DIFS-asks-for-163-million-in-restricted-funds-to-add-five-staff-amid-higher-complaints-cyber-threats","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598450-67610bdf135d7da74eb461bce9a2705e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148608&Signature=fGdDAc5KUzSFpovkNCvkAzcTzrqoR6Xkua0EHTl7JsrJVedzwtET6pvQA5RJP1ET1U1Pk5gxFEcctRy4li7yCQpNuCGI1w7p5pqZDd-M8JUTsNxtgoj-43-vJa~vLs39dsCZk-NndDHn-7VsNKTqXW68613nJQ7QyImwkjjRIc~X5xrE13Hcygw9ejLhKPpWuD9ThgL0qEMB7TeGW~-jKnwBf2ajoVeSM4bflbR6TPETaF-axxnqkiyk0tZjVYtNfIW7vNBzj8uE7~73iJPkiYNQUulr3sjIm4KzGOK3XepUkHm96SomgBdJZ3nA03bawIcaska5L~RNAl7M5rp3uQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a meeting of the Michigan House Operations subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) Director Anita Fox asked lawmakers for $1,634,200 in additional state restricted fund authority for fiscal 2026 to cover payroll adjustments and five new staff positions.

Fox told the subcommittee the bulk of the request—about $955,000—reflects employee payroll adjustments and administrative costs, while roughly $600,000 would fund five FTEs to manage increased workload in the department’s consumer-protection and regulatory enforcement functions.

The request is intended to support appeals under the Patient’s Right to Independent Review Act, speed producer licensing and misconduct reviews, add an administrative law specialist to handle a growing body of statutes and regulations (including pharmacy benefit manager oversight), expand cybersecurity incident response and add a lead IT analyst for modernization and troubleshooting.

“We are totally fee funded, restricted funds,” Fox said, emphasizing that DIFS does not draw on the general fund and that industry license and fee revenue funds the work. She described the department’s dual mission: ensuring market solvency and consumer protection while supporting growth in Michigan’s insurance and financial services industries.

The director gave members data to justify the staffing ask: DIFS answered more than 50,000 consumer calls in 2024, processed about 9,500 complaints and more than 3,000 written requests for assistance, and reported recovering $22,500,000 for Michiganders in the last year. Fox also said insurer filings and industry activity have increased—producer license counts rose nearly 97% since 2014 and bank assets and money-transmission activity have grown markedly since 2019.

Fox described the Patient’s Right to Independent Review Act appeals process, noting that only a small share of denials nationally reach an external appeal and that increased outreach (a public campaign funded by one-time FY25 dollars) has driven greater demand for independent review. She said the department needs staff to handle expedited 72-hour appeals and other urgent cases.

Members asked about licensing backlogs, fee structures and what the requested positions would do. Representative Steele raised the producer-license issue, noting an out-of-state producer license historically collected $10 and remains administratively burdensome; Fox said DIFS is working to modernize fees and require licensees to keep contact information current. Representative McKinney pressed on high auto insurance rates in Detroit; Fox cited national trends, inflation, supply-chain impacts on repair costs, higher claim severity and localized factors such as theft and crash risk as drivers of higher and disparate premiums. Karen Geiger of DIFS confirmed the vendor contracted for an auto-insurance study is Milliman.

Fox also described cybersecurity as a growing priority: last year cyber incidents tied to regulated entities affected more than 1,000,000 Michigan consumers and the department needs more capacity to investigate and respond.

The subcommittee approved the meeting minutes from March 20, 2025 at the start of the session; Representative Steele moved the approval and the roll call recorded all members present.

The director closed by offering to follow up with additional materials and to make staff available for members’ questions.","Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Anita Fox told a Michigan House subcommittee the department seeks $1,634,200 in state-restricted fund authority for fiscal 2026 to cover payroll adjustments and five new positions to handle appeals, licensing reviews, legal support, cybersecurity and IT modernization.","actionData","errors"]

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Cannabis regulator builds reference lab, warns of hemp loopholes and licensing strain as industry expands

DIFS asks for $1.63 million in restricted funds to add five staff amid higher complaints, cyber threats