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Committee backs bill limiting inter-licensee credit, creating delinquent list for Massachusetts cannabis businesses
Summary
A House committee recommended passage of House Bill 4534 on Sept. 25, 2025; the bill would cap credit between licensed cannabis businesses at 60 days, require the Cannabis Control Commission to post delinquent licensees, and establish notice, payment and penalty rules.
The Massachusetts House Committee on Cannabis Policy on Sept. 25, 2025 reported legislation (House No. 4534) that would limit credit between licensed cannabis businesses to 60 days and require the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to publish a list of delinquent licensees, the committee said. The committee report recommends that the bill "ought to pass."
The bill would make it unlawful for any licensed marijuana establishment or medical marijuana establishment to extend or receive credit for marijuana or marijuana products except in the usual course of business and for no more than 60 days. If a licensee fails to pay within that 60-day window, the creditor licensee must notify the commission and the delinquent licensee within three days. The commission must review the report and, if valid, post the name and address of the delinquent licensee within five days.
Under the proposal, licensees seriously damaged by riot, fire, explosion, civil disturbance or an act of God may apply to the commission to suspend the 60-day rule; the commission would set a hearing within 21 days, give notice to sellers to the applicant and allow interested parties to be heard. Pending the hearing, the commission may order that the applicant not be posted as delinquent after an investigation and a finding that the applicant's facts provide reasonable grounds for relief. Any suspension would be subject to terms and conditions the commission determines.
The bill would bar licensed sellers from delivering marijuana or marijuana products to any licensee on the delinquent list unless full payment is made on or before delivery by certified funds, electronic funds transfer or another commission-approved payment method; licensees on the delinquent list would likewise be prohibited from accepting deliveries except upon full payment on or before delivery.
When a delinquent indebtedness is paid in full, the creditor must notify the commission within 24 hours and the commission must remove the licensee from the posting within one business day. The commission would prescribe by regulation how other licensees are notified when names are added to or removed from the delinquency list. The bill also would prohibit the commission from approving a change of ownership or control for a listed licensee until delinquencies are satisfied, except for court-appointed receivers or trustees in voluntary assignments for creditors, subject to prior commission approval and notice to creditors.
The measure sets a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for violations of the section and limits access to the posting list to licensees or duly authorized agents; the commission may allow third-party access through its licensing software provider. Finally, the bill directs the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to promulgate or amend regulations to conform with the act not later than one year after the law's effective date.
The committee report accompanying the bill identifies Priscila S. Sousa and Aaron L. Saunders as petitioners and is signed "For the committee, DANIEL M. DONAHUE." The report recommends passage but does not record a committee vote in the text of the filing.
