Harrisburg, PA (WENY)-- One lawmaker in the Pennsylvania statehouse is introducing a revamped version of a Bill he’s introduced before. Representative Jake Wheatley is once again pushing legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Allegheny County Democrat says House Bill 2050 is an improved version of the marijuana legalization Bill he proposed last year.

“We get deeper into the entrees for our smaller entrepreneurs, and then more crystallized in our social justice components,” Rep. Wheatley says.

After a year with no movement on House Bill 50, and after listening to comments from the public, he’s introducing another bill to legalize recreational marijuana

“House Bill 50 was a good initial first step, but it doesn’t allow for smaller entrepreneurs to really play, so we kind of changed some of those structures,” explains Rep. Wheatley.

Provisions of the proposal:

Under this proposal, the Department of Health would oversee the adult-use marijuana program.  House Bill 2050 would allow private sector permits for marijuana growers, processors, and dispensaries. Small, craft cannabis growers and processors would also be able to enter the adult-use cannabis market.

House Bill 2050 would continue to exempt medical marijuana sales from the proposed sales tax. It would also provide a 10% tax break to growers who partner with Pennsylvania farms. A 10% wholesale tax would be imposed on cannabis organizations, and counties would be allowed to levy up to a 3% tax on retail cannabis inside their municipality. 

The proposal also calls for a graduated retail tax that would provide money for various state programs. The proposed cannabis tax rate is as follows: 12% in the first two years, 18% in the next two years, and 25% in the fifth year and beyond. Revenue generated from taxes would pay for things like after-school programs, mixed-income housing programs, student loan reimbursement programs, and provide grant money for cannabis-related businesses owned by minorities and women. 

Criminal and social justice also plays a big role in this proposal. House Bill 2050 would decriminalize the possession of cannabis, and expunge cannabis-related offenses within 60 days. It would release inmates who were imprisoned because of a marijuana-related offense once their record is expunged. It would also reinstate professional licenses and driver’s licenses that were lost because of a marijuana-related offense.

“This is more than just about cannabis. This is actually about social and criminal justice reform,” says Rep. Wheatley. We believe the time has certainly come and passed for us to engage in a conversation here in the Capitol for this critical topic,” he adds.

What happens next?

After the Bill is formally introduced, it will likely head to the House Health Committee. That’s the same place Rep. Wheatley’s first Bill, House Bill 50 ended up. That Committee is chaired by Representative Kathy Rapp (R-Warren), who has been a strong advocate against the legalization of recreational marijuana. She says she doesn’t plan to run this Bill through the committee either. 

“Our law enforcement officers across the state are still having to deal with the opioids, with meth, and I am not going to add to their burden of having to deal with the legalization of marijuana,” Rep. Rapp says.

Rep. Rapp says as long as recreational marijuana is illegal on the federal level, it should be illegal in Pennsylvania. She has a few other reasons for refusing to run any Bill through the House Health Committee that would legalize recreational marijuana.

“Looking at other states and the increase in accidents on the highways, some of the articles I have read linking recreational marijuana to mental health and schizophrenia, I am not anxious to push this Bill through the Health Committee,” Rep. Rapp says.

Rep. Wheatley says lawmakers should be listening to constituents regardless of their own view on the topic.

“Anyone in this Capitol dome that’s refusing to listen to the citizens of this Commonwealth, primarily based on their own view of the world, I think is doing a disservice to themselves and to the office,” says Rep. Wheatley.

Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman released a report in September that found 65-70 percent of Pennsylvania residents are for the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana.

Representative Wheatley sent out a memo to lawmakers asking for support for this new proposal. You can read it here: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=31188.