A 14th Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, after members adopted a large-scale amendment to overhaul various tax provisions of the legislation.
The House Taxes Committee passed the measure from Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) in a voice vote on Thursday. Members also received a much-anticipated fiscal note and revenue projection ahead of the meeting.
One of the main changes that was adopted as part of an amendment from the sponsor would gradually decrease the tax rate for cannabis sales over time, starting at eight percent as set in the original bill, and then reducing to 5.25 percent in 2025. Regulators would assess the rate going forward from that point every two years with the aim of reducing taxes even further so that only the cost of implementation are covered.
“The theory behind this bill from the beginning has always been that we are not doing pot for potholes. We are not legalizing cannabis in order to fund other enterprises of state government,” Stephenson said on Thursday. “We think that cannabis should be self-sufficient and that the licensing fees and tax revenue generated by cannabis should flow to what is necessary to effectuate the cannabis bill, but
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