Recreational marijuana rules take shape as Mills signs bill

Courtesy / Office of Governor Gov. Janet Mills poses with House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, and Rep. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, as well as advocates from various organizations, including the Maine Equal Justice Partners and Maine Children’s Alliance, after Mills signed anti-poverty legislation Thursday.

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By Staff

Gov. Janet Mills last week signed into law rules for selling recreational marijuana, as well as two bills designed to fight poverty and help get people into the workforce.

On Thursday, she signed LD 719, which puts rules into place to implement the Marijuana Legalization Act, which was passed by voters in November 2016. The law clarifies who can sell, and also has a provision for towns to opt in to selling marijuana.

The Office of Marijuana Policy, created by Mills in February, will spend the next several months completing work on a marijuana track-and-trace system, adult use licensing system, and a public health and safety education campaign, a news release from Mills' office said. The law takes effect in September, and following the effective date, OMP has 60 days to adopt the adult use rules. OMP must begin accepting adult use business applications within 30 days of final adoption.

The office, which is part of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, will oversee all aspects of legalized marijuana, including Maine's Medical Use of Marijuana Program.

The OMP developed the recreational sale rules as part of a collaborative effort between state agencies, OMP’s rulemaking consulting team, the public and industry stakeholders, who all participated in the public comment process.

The law amends the Maine Food Law to no longer consider edibles produced with recreational marijuana as adulterated, allowing specified vendors access limited access to licenses. The department can also impose an administrative hold on a licensee. In addition, the law authorizes DAFS and OMP, subject to the incorporation of specified amendments, to complete final adoption of their adult use rulemaking.

In forming the rules, the new office consulted with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Labor; Department of Public Safety; Department of Environmental Protection; Department of Professional and Financial Regulation; and DAFS’ Maine Revenue Services. The office also coordinated closely with the Office of the Attorney General, Department of the Secretary of State and the Legislature’s Office of Policy and Legal Analysis.

“The Office of Marijuana Policy has set several ambitious timelines since being established in February, and we are proud to have been able to meet all of them,” said OMP Director Erik Gundersen. “Our mission at OMP is to effectively license and regulate marijuana establishments and distributors. We have drafted these rules with a view toward keeping the public’s health and safety at the forefront.”

Legislation to combat poverty

Mills Thursday signed LD 1774 and LD 1772, "seek to help families in poverty meet their basic needs and ensure economic opportunities are accessible once those families are stabilized and able to take advantage of them," said a news release from Mills' office.

The bills, sponsored, respectively, by House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, and Rep. Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, aim to tackle the MaineCare “benefits cliff” and gives more families access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits by eliminating the gross income test; provides funding for whole-family economic security initiatives to apply for grants from the Department of Health and Human Services; and enables TANF recipients to count time spent pursuing a GED toward their work requirements.

“Maine is confronting a workforce shortage that will be solved, in part, by making sure that every able adult is working, and every child is getting a good education that will allow them to flourish," said Mills. "But right now, poverty is holding too many families back from realizing this potential. By signing these bills into law, we are lifting children and families out of poverty and helping them to step back into the workforce, obtain skills training, and get the education necessary for future success."

Gideon said that the legislation" will result in real, positive change in the lives of Mainers experiencing poverty — those who are struggling and only want better, brighter futures for themselves and their kids. By prioritizing education and training services and making the investments called for in these bills, we’re going to see the dividends pay off in a big way for our State’s economy today and in the years to come."

Stewart said, "These reforms will aid in addressing the critical shortage of workers that we are facing in Maine. Working with folks who are currently in poverty and reforming our system of public assistance to ensure we are incentivizing the right behavior — going to or back to work — will be a critical component of this solution.”

Other bills signed last week

Mills has signed more than 400 bills, and has more to go, her office said Monday morning. For details on specific bills, visit the Legislature's website.

Bills signed by Mills late last week include:

LD 40 "Resolve, To Establish the Commission To Study Children's Mental Health" (Emergency)

LD 49 "An Act Regarding the Designation of Traumatic Brain Injury on Driver's Licenses and Nondriver Identification Cards"

LD 67 "An Act To Ensure Access to Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault"

LD 84 "Resolve, Directing the Department of Health and Human Services To Allow Spouses To Provide Home and Community-based Services to Eligible MaineCare Members"

LD 138 "An Act To Provide Funding for the Maine Coworking Development Fund"

LD 151 "An Act To Align State Law with Current Practice Regarding Required School Attendance"

LD 165 "An Act To Prohibit the Use of Handheld Phones and Devices While Driving"

LD 206 "An Act To Raise the University of Maine System Debt Ceiling"

LD 214 "An Act To Increase Funding for Civil Legal Services"

LD 297 "An Act To Strengthen Brain Injury Resources for Underserved Populations, Including Opioid Overdose Brain Injury Survivors"

LD 440 "An Act To Continue the Doctors for Maine's Future Scholarship Program"

LD 454 "An Act To Encourage the Purchase of Local Produce for Public Schools"

LD 627 "An Act Regarding Portable Electronic Device Content, Location Information and Tracking Devices"

LD 696 "An Act To Protect Public Employees from Identity Theft"

LD 699 "Resolve, To Provide for Outreach Programs To Assist Women at Risk of Giving Birth to Substance-exposed Infants"

LD 701 "An Act To Modernize the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program" (Emergency)LD 733 "An Act To Promote Keeping Workers in Maine"

LD 786 "An Act To Reduce Hunger and Promote Maine Agriculture"

LD 800 "An Act To Require Recording of Interviews of Suspects"

LD 829 "Resolve, To Reestablish the Commission To Improve the Sentencing, Supervision, Management and Incarceration of Prisoners" (Emergency)

LD 906 "An Act Concerning Pavement Sealing Products"

LD 913 "An Act To Protect the Public from Clergy Sexual Abuse" (By Request)

LD 945 "An Act To Establish a Blue Ribbon Commission To Study and Recommend Funding Solutions for the State's Transportation Systems" (Emergency)

LD 997 "An Act To Promote Social and Emotional Learning and Development for Young Children"

LD 1005 "Resolve, To Establish a Pilot Project To Save Lives and Support People with Substance Use Disorder in Washington County" (Emergency)

LD 1007 "An Act To Expand and Enhance Maine's Behavioral Health Direct Care Workforce"

LD 1111 "An Act Regarding Driver's License Suspensions for Criminal Negligence"

LD 1116 "An Act To Strengthen the Lead Poisoning Control Act" (Emergency)

LD 1190 "An Act To Prohibit the Sale and Distribution of Flavored Tobacco Products"

LD 1304 "An Act To Ease Financial Burdens for Juveniles Involved in the Justice System"

LD 1457 "An Act To Make References to the Governor and Supreme Judicial Court Justices Gender Neutral"

LD 1480 “An Act To Modify Retirement Plans for Fire Investigators and Sergeants”

LD 1483 "An Act To Clarify the Disposition of Funds Presumed Abandoned in a Lawyer's Trust Account"

LD 1516 "An Act To Improve Efficiency in Communication in the Court System" (Emergency)LD 1478 "Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 115: The Credentialing of Education Personnel, a Late-filed Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education" (Emergency)

LD 1544 "An Act To Enact the Maine Revised Unclaimed Property Act"

LD 1580 "An Act To Protect Licensing Information of Medical Professionals"

LD 1602 "Resolve, Establishing the Working Group on Mental Health" (Emergency)

LD 1658 "An Act To Clarify Prevailing Wage Rates on State Projects Using Federal Funds"

LD 1708 "An Act To Provide for the Merger of Hospital Administrative District No. 4 into MRH Corp., a Maine Nonprofit, Nonstock Private Corporation" (Emergency)

LD 1746 "An Act To Amend the Licensing Laws of Certain Professions and Occupations"

LD 1815 "An Act To Provide Funds To Continue the Statewide Online Advanced Placement Course Program Provided by the Department of Education in Partnership with the University of Maine at Fort Kent"

LD 1831 "An Act To Correct Inconsistencies, Conflicts and Errors in the Laws of Maine" (Emergency)

LD 1845 "An Act To Fund Collective Bargaining Agreements with Executive Branch Employees" (Emergency) (Governor's Bill)

LD 1846 "An Act To Fund Collective Bargaining Agreements with Certain Judicial Department Employees" (Emergency)