Latest news with #JoshRauch
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Senate passes bill that would make major changes to adult-use marijuana law
A bill proposed to change the recreational marijuana law passed in the Ohio Senate on Wednesday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Senate Bill 56 passed with a vote of 26 to 9. As previously reported on News Center 7, Senator Stephen Huffman (R-Tipp City) proposed the bill on Jan. 28. TRENDING STORIES: 21-year-old killed in police-involved shooting near Montgomery County golf course identified Man accused breaking into ex-girlfriend's home before killing her formally charged Cell phone repairman caught downloading nude photos from customers' phones in Ohio If the bill is adopted, it could change several aspects of the law, including the number of plants a person can grow in a household, taxes and THC potencies. >>RELATED: Local senator proposes major changes to adult-use marijuana law Cities that house adult-use marijuana dispensaries get a big chunk of tax money, but the bill would keep that money with the state. As previously reported by News Center 7, city leaders in Riverside, Piqua, and Beavercreek all said they were not in favor of these changes. Riverside City Manager Josh Rauch said the bill is 'problematic on a number of fronts' for local governments. 'If the state takes that money away, it just increases the tax burden for our own residents and kind of cuts against the way that the language that everybody voted on a couple of years ago is actually written,' Rauch said. Some of the other changes include decreasing the number of marijuana plants Ohioans over 21 years old can grow in one household from 12 to six and decreasing the THC potency in oils and vape products from 90% to 70%. The bill will now move to the Ohio House of Representatives. If it passes, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will receive the bill and decide to sign or veto it. DeWine's office previously sent News Center 7 a statement regarding the bill saying 'voters approved it in a manner subject to amendment by the general assembly.' News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City leaders concerned over bill aimed at taking marijuana tax revenue from local governments
The Ohio Senate is considering a bill that would change recreational marijuana law in the state. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Currently, cities that allow legal marijuana sales get a big chunk of the tax money. City leaders told News Center 7 that they're relying on that money. TRENDING STORIES: 21-year-old killed in police-involved shooting near Montgomery County golf course identified Man accused breaking into ex-girlfriend's home before killing her formally charged Cell phone repairman caught downloading nude photos from customers' phones in Ohio From the start of adult-use marijuana sales last August to January 25, Ohioans have spent just shy of $300 million on it. The state takes 10 percent of those sales with a tax. The law says that 36 percent of the tax money goes to the cities with adult-use dispensaries. Senate Bill 56 would keep that money with the state. In Riverside, City Manager Josh Rauch said the proposed bill is 'problematic on a number of fronts' for local governments. 'We're sort of relying on these funds,' Rauch said. Riverside houses two adult-use dispensaries. As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, the revenue would be used the fund their fire and police departments, among other things. Rauch wasn't able to say how much money the city was expecting but over in Beavercreek, a city with only one dispensary, the city manager told News Center 7 they were expecting $150,000 on the low end. If the bill passes, they would not get that money. 'If the state takes that money away, it just increases the tax burden for our own residents and kind of cuts against the way that the language that everybody voted on a couple of years ago is actually written,' Rauch said. City officials in Riverside, Piqua, and Beavercreek all told News Center 7 they were not in favor of these changes. Rauch also said it's dangerous to speculate, but conversations around allowing adult-use marijuana sales in their city may have been much different had they known about this change. His hope is that lawmakers in Columbus realize the impact this change would have on cities across the state. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's office sent News Center 7 a statement saying 'voters approved it in a manner subject to amendment by the general assembly.' [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
