Montana s marijuana implementation bill survived intense scrutiny from a legalization-hesitant Republican majority to pass the Legislature on Tuesday.
House Bill 701 from Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, cleared the House on a 67-32 vote and now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, where he is expected to sign it.
The bill allocates $6 million to Gianforte s fund planned for substance abuse prevention and addiction treatment, a program lawmakers shut down in February as a standalone item.
The bill had died twice on the House side, once on its first vote in the House Taxation Committee and again Monday. Negotiations in the Senate this month led to compromises for both Democrats, who wanted to align the proposal more closely to Initiative 190 s language, and Republicans wary of legalization.Â
MT House passes marijuana bill, now headed to governor
By: Jonathon Ambarian
and last updated 2021-04-28 00:44:15-04
HELENA â The Montana Legislatureâs major bill to implement marijuana legalization is now on its way to Governor Greg Gianforteâs desk. On Tuesday, the Montana House endorsed the Senateâs version of House Bill 701 62-38 in a preliminary vote. Less than an hour later, the bill passed again on a final vote, 67-32.
âWe will walk out of this session having delivered forward to the people of Montana something that works,â said Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, who sponsored HB 701.
Itâs the end of a wild journey for the bill, which was officially introduced less than a month ago. Since that time, it has gone through the House and Senate, been heavily amended twice and been tabled in a House committee and then immediately revived.
Montana Republican Rep. Mike Hopkins discusses House Bill 701 on April 27, 2021.
After extensive deliberation, a sweeping framework to regulate recreational marijuana sales in Montana is heading to the governor’s desk. Lawmakers passed the policy despite continued division among Republicans over what the program should look like.
The House pushed the bill over the finish line in the session’s waning days without support from many of the Republican caucus’ most conservative lawmakers.
Missoula Republican Rep. Mike Hopkins warned colleagues that inaction would lead to the state continuing to operate under rules from the adult-use cannabis ballot initiative approved in November.