Ohio legislature takes step toward marijuana, intoxicating hemp deal

In sum, the House’s version was characterized by its main architect, Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, as a tough-negotiated compromise that “tackles the issue head on, it makes tough decisions, it respects and implements the feedback from residents and advocates from across the effected industries.”

S.B. 56 now heads back to the Senate, which has the option of concurring with the House’s changes, ignoring the bill entirely, or sending the bill into a so-called conference committee where select lawmakers of both chambers negotiate a compromise.

On Wednesday, Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, told reporters he expects the bill to go to conference committee, as some House provisions will cause agitation within his caucus.

Top of the list was the House’s plan to create up to 400 licensed hemp retailers, as opposed to the Senate’s plan to merely limit intoxicating hemp products to recreational marijuana dispensaries that are already have a regulatory framework.

“It’s a brand new regulatory scheme for hemp relative to what we’ve been talking about. For us to put that on the floor without talking to our caucus about it — I’m sure there are going to be members who are going to have issues with some of that stuff," McColley said. “So, we’re going to take a look at that.”

Another significant distinction between the two plans is centered on where recreational marijuana tax revenue would go. The Senate’s plan would funnel all revenue into the state’s coffers, while the House’s plan would give 36% back to the local governments that are host to recreational marijuana dispensaries, as intended by the voter-approved statute.

“Folks, this was not a given,” Stewart explained to his colleagues on the House floor, noting that current law doesn’t have requisite legal language appropriating that money to municipalities. “To get that money to our local communities, it was always going to require legislation in this chamber.”

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, whose caucus was united against the Senate’s version of S.B. 56, told reporters Wednesday that the House’s new plan is certainly a step toward a solution. Still, she’d like a conference committee, even though the House’s plan garnered considerable support from House Democrats. “There’s clearly some things that need to be worked out,” she said.

House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, told reporters that he would be surprised “if the Senate simply concurred on them.” He said his number one priority, in terms of a conference committee, is merely getting the issue resolved.

Stewart said he expects there to be some room for negotiation, but he thinks the overwhelming support from House Republicans and Democrats will give the House a stronger position in negotiations.

“I think that sends a pretty strong signal that a bill is possible, but it’s going to probably have to look closer to what we’ve done today,” he said.

Legislative progress on either topic has been hard to come by as disagreements have mounted between the Republican supermajorities of the Ohio House and Senate. That inaction spurred DeWine to sign a pair of executive orders earlier this month to ban all intoxicating hemp sales in the state and require retailers to get rid of their stock. A judge blocked the action shortly after it went into effect on the basis that DeWine overstepped his authority.