Appropriations reviews H.321 miscellaneous cannabis bill; flags $150,000 enforcement attorney request

House Appropriations convened March 18 to consider H.321, described in committee as “an act relating to miscellaneous cannabis” that would make technical and targeted policy changes to Vermont’s commercial cannabis regulatory system.

The bill matters because it both alters licensing and compliance processes used by the Cannabis Control Board and includes a request — not an appropriation — for a new enforcement attorney position the board says would cost about $150,000 a year.

For the record, Michelle Childs, Office of Legislative Council, told the committee the bill is the annual miscellaneous cannabis package and walked members through its key changes. “This is the annual miscellaneous cannabis bill,” she said, adding it includes both technical edits and a small number of substantive items. Among the measures Childs described, the bill would: create a new trim-and-harvest license with a $500 annual fee for people who work seasonally with cultivators; clarify background-check procedures when FBI records are unavailable and permit rechecks; allow the Cannabis Control Board to issue temporary employee licenses while checks are pending; add a process for a temporary permit to manage a failing licensed business and its inventory; and make a technical correction to hemp definitions carried from last year’s act.

Ted Barnett, Joint Fiscal Office, told the committee most fee changes would have minimal revenue impact. “The control board estimates that fewer than 10 establishments would apply for the new harvest and trim license,” Barnett said, and he noted an employee licensing change (an optional two-year $100 license vs. the current $50 annual fee) could slightly shift timing of revenues across fiscal years. Barnett flagged a separate item of budget consequence: the Cannabis Control Board’s requested enforcement attorney. “The control board estimates that position would cost $150,000 per year,” he said, and the bill contains no appropriation for that cost.

James Pepper, Chair of the Cannabis Control Board, told the committee the board currently relies on a single attorney who serves both as general counsel and as the board’s enforcement attorney. “We have a single attorney right now, who’s in charge of not just being the general counsel for the board ... but he is also now acting as our sole enforcement attorney as well,” Pepper said, and described a growing volume of compliance letters, notices of violation and appeals as licensing has moved from start-up to routine regulation.

Committee members pressed staff on where an appropriation for the enforcement attorney could come from. Barnett noted the cannabis regulation fund currently pays many board expenses and that changes to that fund would affect a planned $8,400,000 transfer from the regulation fund to the general fund in fiscal year 2026; using regulation-fund dollars for this position would likely reduce that transfer. Barnett also noted Joint Fiscal Office does not forecast fine revenue from enforcement but that the board had said penalties could generate revenue.

Members asked procedural questions as well: staff confirmed Ways and Means adopted an amendment related to nicotine and tobacco that will appear as a floor amendment and must be reconciled with the bill reported from House Government Operations. Committee staff said they would follow up with Ways and Means staff before scheduling a committee vote. The committee did not vote on H.321 at the March 18 meeting.

Clarifying details from testimony and fiscal review included: a $500 annual fee for the new trim-and-harvest license; fewer than 10 establishments estimated to seek that new license; a proposed two-year employee license for $100 (current annual $50 fee remains an option); the board’s current single-attorney enforcement capacity and the board’s estimate of $150,000 annual cost for a dedicated enforcement attorney; and an $8.4 million transfer from the cannabis regulation fund to the general fund projected in FY 2026 that could be affected if the regulation fund were used to pay the position.

No formal committee action or votes were recorded on H.321 at the March 18 meeting. Committee staff said they will reconvene with Ways and Means staff to confirm the status of the Ways and Means amendment before scheduling a vote.

— Ending note: Committee members identified follow-up items including coordination with Ways and Means, confirmation of where any appropriation would be found, and continued monitoring of enforcement workload as the board transitions from licensing to compliance.