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Future of new Maine marijuana laws uncertain after initial votes by lawmakers

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Published: Oct 23, 2017, 4:41 pm • Updated: Oct 23, 2017, 4:41 pm

By The Associated Press

A legislative effort to rewrite the Maine recreational marijuana sales law so far lacks enough votes in the House to become law.

The Maine House voted 85-53 on Monday evening on comprehensive regulations backed by the Legislature’s marijuana implementation committee.

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But the bill will likely need at least 101 votes in the House to become law.

The committee has been working for months on a plan that would allow municipalities to opt-in to the state’s recreational pot market, with sales expected to start in 2019.

But Republicans Gov. Paul LePage and House Minority Leader Ken Fredette want lawmakers to rework the committee’s proposal and in the meantime simply delay pot sales until 2019. The House voted to indefinitely postpone such a plan.

Republican Rep. Patrick Corey said he’s concerned the pot committee’s bill won’t provide enough tax revenue to cover the state’s implementation’s costs.

The legislative special session ordered by LePage was also intended to address the future of a new voting system approved at the polls last fall, fix problems in the food sovereignty law and provide funding for the Maine Office of Geographic Information Systems.

The House voted 74-64 midday Monday to keep ranked-choice voting in place for federal races and for primaries for statewide races, such as for governor. The Senate, meanwhile, voted 19-16 Monday in support of delaying and possibly eliminating the new voting law. The voter-approved law would be repealed in four years unless the Maine Constitution is amended to explicitly allow ranked-choice voting.

Both chambers were expected to keep working on solutions Monday.

Topics: legislation, Maine, maine marijuana legalization

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