House removes cannabis "showcase event" pilot from miscellaneous cannabis bill

The Vermont House amended a senate change to House Bill 321 and removed a senate-added pilot for a cannabis "showcase event" permit.

Representative (the member) from Chittenden moved an amendment to delete sections 15(a) and 15(b) from the senate's proposal of amendment. "Essentially, what this amendment does is it takes the amendment that the member from Vergennes offered earlier today and further amends it ... by deleting section 15 a and b," the member from Chittenden said on the floor, explaining the provision would remove the cannabis showcase-event permit pilot and allow the Cannabis Control Board to return next year with recommended guardrails.

The member from Vergennes told the chamber the committee conducted a straw poll on the amendment and supported the Chittenden amendment in a 7-0-4 straw poll. The House then amended the proposal of amendment and subsequently concurred in the Senate's proposal as further amended. Other members offered and sustained procedural motions to suspend rules to permit immediate reconsideration and to message the House's actions to the Senate; those motions passed by voice vote and the action was messaged to the Senate forthwith.

Floor materials and the first assistant clerk's emails were referenced as providing the text of the amendment; the clerk confirmed the amendment was available on the House overview web page and paper copies were at the table. No roll-call vote was recorded on the floor for the final concurrence; the chair indicated the ayes had it.

The change removes the pilot permit from the bill; the Cannabis Control Board may return with recommendations in a subsequent session if it chooses.