With only a few hours to go on the last day of the 2024 legislative session, the Connecticut Senate late Wednesday passed sweeping legislation that, among other things, creates new prohibitions on the unregulated sale of cannabis products and intoxicating hemp-derived products throughout the state, in addition to new legal pathways to market for low-THC hemp-derived beverages. The rewording, reclassification, and reshaping of the state’s regulation of hemp-derived and so-called synthetic cannabinoid products, as well as its strengthening of enforcement capabilities by both municipalities and the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), are contained in two bills – HB 5150 and HB 5235 – each of which passed Wednesday evening by wide margins and with bipartisan support: the former by a vote of 31-5 and the latter by a vote of 35-1.
HB 5150’s proponent in the senate, Senator Maroney, commented briefly on the bill before the vote, noting that it will enhance enforcement mechanisms for municipal enforcement and “also takes the high- and moderate-THC products off of the shelves of gas stations and convenience stores.”
Only one legislator, Senator Kelly, rose to express his objection to the bill. “I understand that this is an area where there is not enough regulation, because it makes these hemp products available to basically any age of consumer,” he said. “However, since the legalization of both medicinal and recreational cannabis, as well as the COVID pandemic, many of our manufacturers – our breweries, in particular – have had an encroachment on their footprint, which has cost many Connecticut jobs. One of the problems with this bill is that it’s going to put a tax of $1 a can on every single beverage sold in the state of Connecticut, and that tax is going to cut in on the profit of these manufacturers, making it almost impossible for us to continue to grow jobs in this area
“While I understand the reason why we need to enact such legislation,” he added, “I also recognize that the Connecticut economy for working- and middle-class families is not working, and what we also need to be cognizant of is that these families need to be able to earn a living, too. And so, for that reason, Madam President, I will be casting a no vote, because the tax on the can is going to cost Connecticut jobs, albeit, I understand, to protect individuals who are able to purchase this product now, but we’ve got to be cognizant of all the consequences of our legislation.”
A recently amended version of HB 5150 raised the fee-per-can from fifty cents to one dollar, with all of the money collected going to DCP for regulatory and enforcement purposes. Immediately upon passage of the bill, HB 5150 was ordered to be transmitted to the governor’s desk. HB 5235 is a bill promoted by the DCP that for the most part changes definitions in the law to make them consistent with the newly enacted provisions in HB 5150.
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