Massachusetts Senate plans to debate Cannabis Control Commission reforms next week

Senate Democrats advanced legislation Thursday to revamp oversight of the Cannabis Control Commission, stripping the state treasurer of the power to appoint commissioners to the agency overseeing an $8 billion industry.

The bill comes after years of controversy at the commission, including a long battle between Treasurer Deb Goldberg and Chair Shannon O’Brien, multiple internal conflicts, and a critical report from the state’s Office of the Inspector General.

In a version of the bill the Senate is expected to debate next week, top Democrats in the chamber propose giving Gov. Maura Healey authority to appoint two commissioners, including the chair. The legislation also would cut down the total number of commissioners — from five to three — and continue to allow the attorney general to select the third commissioner.

Sen. Michael Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the Senate wanted to concentrate the power of appointments to “very few” people.

“Remember that cannabis is still federally illegal. There are lots of thorny legal issues. So we thought it would be a good idea to have the third member appointed by the attorney general,” Rodrigues told reporters.

In a statement to WBUR, Goldberg said her focus “has always been on strengthening the effectiveness of the commission.”

“These legislative reforms are designed to modernize the commonwealth’s oversight of our maturing and vital cannabis industry. I support that effort,” Goldberg said.

A spokesperson for the Cannabis Control Commission declined to comment about the Senate bill.

The state’s Inspector General, Jeffrey Shapiro, has been pressing for the Senate to take up the bill.

Senate President Karen Spilka said the changes to the commission proposed in the Senate bill are not in response to the infighting the agency has experienced over the last several years.

“Sometimes the Legislature does a big bill on a topic or an issue, and then they pack it away and don't take it up again. I'm a firm believer in looking at things periodically after a number of years, and it just seems that now is the time to take a look at it again,” the Ashland Democrat said.

The Senate-backed proposal differs slightly from a version passed by the House over the summer.

House lawmakers pitched giving the governor’s office sole power to appoint three commissioners to the agency. The bill also defined the commission chair as the agency’s administrative head and the executive director as a direct report to the chair.

Senate lawmakers gave the commission chair the authority to appoint the executive director, who would exercise independent oversight over the agency’s enforcement and operational units.

Both versions of the bill increase the number of cannabis licenses each retailer can hold in Massachusetts. But where the House doubles the number from three to six, the Senate increases the number only from three to four.

The two legislative branches also increased the purchase and possession limit per person from 1 to 2 ounces of cannabis. Top Senate Democrats argued the move reflects the fact that recreational cannabis use has been a common practice for more than seven years.

The House and Senate also agreed to remove the requirement for medical marijuana establishments to simultaneously cultivate, process and sell their product.