Moving pieces mean ‘a ton going on' at Cannabis Commission

Boston Globe

a day ago

'Obviously, a ton going on which we're all aware of,' Ahern said Thursday.
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The $19.88 million that Gov. Maura Healey, the House and the Senate have all backed for the CCC in the fiscal 2026 budget 'does not meet the needs of the organization,' Ahern
As it prepares for a thinner-than-desired budget next year, Ahern said the CCC is 'in a hiring freeze based on our FY 26 budget projection' and is 'evaluating right now vacancies and the appropriateness of having those posted within the context of that hiring freeze.'
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'If that were to be impacted by a potential supplemental budget availability ... that will change kind of the outlook. And I would just say as well, for those who are concerned at all about that hiring freeze, just to note publicly as well, that, you know, obviously a hiring freeze can be lifted,' he said.
The executive director said the CCC will now look to convince lawmakers to add a little more than $3 million to the agency's budget for public awareness efforts, IT infrastructure improvements, and to continue to engage consultants around testing issues. The CCC
'So that would get us to a little bit more of a normal state prior to new work created through this [House-approved] bill,' Ahern said. 'And then, obviously, we'll be working with the Legislature to calculate the cost of implementing some of the changes contemplated in this bill as it moves forward with the Senate.'
The bill that the
The House bill was sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday and the News Service asked committee chair Sen. Michael Rodrigues on Thursday about interest in the topic among senators.
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'We're always interested to see what they do and we'll be taking a look at it,' he said, adding, 'Everything has some urgency about it, so we want to do everything in as timely a manner as possible.'
Rodrigues emphasized that he's focused on other matters right now, mainly the annual state budget and surtax spending bills that are both in conference committee and a $532 million budget bill that the Senate plans to take up next week.
'My life's all about budgets right now,' Rodrigues said.
The CCC approved a
Ahern told commissioners Thursday that the agency is 'probably in a wait and see on where the Senate might be on that as they begin to take their steps forward.'
'It does appear, as we look at the legislative process, the Senate may take a little bit more time before we probably get to a conference scenario on where the overall package looks,' he said.
In the meantime, the CCC plans to meet again next week to pick up its work on social consumption regulations. The 2016 legalization ballot law contemplated establishments where adults could use legal cannabis in a social setting and the latest proposal was
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Beyond social consumption and potentially rules to deal with a long-discussed issue with employee badging, Ahern said the CCC may go quiet on the regulatory front as things shake out on Beacon Hill.
'I think ultimately we're just going to have to continue to work with our partners in the Legislature on the timeline of when the Senate might be coming back with with their approach, and then also keeping an eye on when this could actually get through conference, because, from a regulatory perspective of the commissioners, that's going to impact kind of the schedule for the whole year,' the executive director said.
Michael P. Norton contributed reporting.