Senate committee leans to prioritize non‑retail producers in cannabis delivery pilot; expungement and renter consumption still under review

A Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee meeting on cannabis policy moved closer to prioritizing small producers for a new delivery‑permit pilot while deferring final decisions on criminal record expungement and consumption rules.

The sponsor of an amendment to S.278 said the bill’s 15 pilot delivery permits should be allocated to tier 1 and tier 2 cultivators and manufacturers who do not hold retail licenses so those smaller operators can "sell their product at retail prices" instead of being limited to wholesale markets. The sponsor said the change targets operators in their district who lack retail outlets and argued the limited pilot should prioritize those without existing retail access.

Committee members and staff discussed how to allocate the permits in practice. Options raised included a lottery, a selection rubric that prioritizes "stand‑alone" tier 1/2 producers, or a statutory set‑aside (for example, reserving a fixed number for non‑retail operators). Legislative counsel described implementation approaches the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) might use — for example, an application deadline followed by either a lottery or a scoring rubric that gives additional weight to applicants without retail licenses.

The committee sought input from the CCB on operational design. A board representative explained the pilot’s fundamental intent is to offer market access to producers who currently cannot reach retail customers and noted states commonly use lotteries or multiple‑entry systems to objectify permit distribution. The board offered technical options (multiple entries, set‑asides, or rubric‑based prioritization) and cautioned the board would design the selection process to be fair and administrable.

Separately, Senator Tanya Vyhovsky told the committee she is exploring two related changes: automatic expungement for people convicted of possessing up to 2 ounces (paralleling earlier expungement when possession thresholds were previously raised) and a narrow accommodation allowing non‑smoking consumption (edibles, vaping/non‑combustion) in rental housing. Vyhovsky said she will consult with the judiciary to determine how many convictions would be affected and whether automatic expungement can be operationalized given how convictions are coded under current criminal statutes.

Members flagged practical concerns. Staff and lawmakers noted automatic expungement can be administratively intensive (previous automatic expungement work took years to complete) and that statutory conviction categories (for example, ranges of ounces in the criminal code) complicate identifying eligible cases without judiciary input. On consumption, members agreed smoking presents distinctive odor and damage issues for landlords, so they proposed starting with a narrower carve‑out for consumable products rather than broad public‑consumption rules.

The committee did not take a final vote. Members favored refining Scott Beck’s amendment (to qualify or prioritize non‑retail tier 1/2 applicants) and asked the sponsor, CCB staff, and counsel to draft clarifying language. They also asked Senator Vyhovsky to coordinate with judiciary staff to provide case counts and draft language for an expungement proposal ahead of the committee’s next session.