Republic council amends marijuana facility hours to match state limit

Republic council amends marijuana facility hours to match state limit At a city council meeting, the Republic City Council voted 6-0 to amend municipal code language governing hours of operation for marijuana facilities so local limits align with state statute that allows dispensaries to remain open until 10 p.m. Council members said the change responds to requests from the city's dispensary and brings Republic into alignment with neighboring cities. The ordinance was given final passage after brief discussion and a roll-call vote. City staff said the original local ordinance established earlier closing times when the dispensary first opened and that the amendment removes that more restrictive local limit. "When we originally amended, this section of the ordinance, we did have a closing time of 8 p.m. State statute actually allows dispensaries and related marijuana facilities to stay open until 10," staff member Haines said. "We did receive a request, and we are amending those hours, to align with the state." Council member John Neal (first reference: Council member John Neal) said the hours change also has a secondary fiscal effect. "Well, just to reiterate that it it puts us in line with what the state allows for. And since we passed an extra tax last year, that would allow for additional tax revenue. That's kind of a second piece of that that's important," he said. The council voted 6-0 to adopt final passage of bill 25-26 amending Title 6, Chapter 6.35, section 6.35.08 (hours of operation). The motion and second were made on the council floor; no individual mover or seconder was recorded in the meeting transcript. The ordinance text read at the meeting references Missouri Constitution Article XIV, sections 1 and 2 and updates the municipal code to align with state statute. Discussion was limited to clarifying the rationale and confirming the change would bring local hours into parity with neighboring jurisdictions. The record does not state an effective date for the ordinance.