Senators to take up their plans for cannabis agency shakeup

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The turbulent era of the Cannabis Control Commission could soon be coming to an end.

Senators on Thursday advanced their version of an overhaul of the troubled regulatory agency, with a full vote expected next week. House lawmakers passed an overhaul back in June.

The Senate proposal comes as the agency is still struggling to right itself after years of infighting and finger-pointing over who’s to blame for a toxic work environment.

Shannon O’Brien returned as chair in October, reinstated by a judge two years after Treasurer Deb Goldberg sought to oust her. O’Brien pledged a “new beginning,” but has questioned votes taken in her absence, sparred with staff hired while she was away, pressured a fellow commissioner on votes, and threatened Goldberg with a defamation suit.

Senators plan a vote Nov. 19, the last day of scheduled formal sessions this year. 

O’Brien, a former state senator, was back holding court inside the Senate Reading Room earlier in the week, in a senators-only meeting as they pulled together their bill, which would blow up the current structure of the agency.

Commissioner Kim Roy was also there, O’Brien said in an email. She explained they were there to discuss intoxicating hemp, which the Senate bill is silent on. “Obviously the newly passed federal prohibition on intoxicating hemp created a new wrinkle for legislators to consider which likely impacted the Senate’s deliberations today," she said.

When it comes to the commission, the Senate bill would shift the commission down to three members from five. The governor would appoint the chair and one other member, while the attorney general would appoint the third. The chair, who would also be able to appoint the executive director, would be co-terminus with the governor. The House has also proposed a three-person structure, but concentrated power in the governor’s office and made the chair the only full-time member.

Right now, the governor, attorney general, and treasurer are involved in the appointments to varying degrees.

The bill also increases the limit on retail licenses and the amount of marijuana adults can legally possess. 

“Our bill mirrors very closely what the House did,” said Sen. Michael Rodrigues, whose Ways and Means Committee handled the rewrite. “Our commissioners are full time, we do allow the attorney general to appoint one of the three commissioners, but otherwise our bills pretty much match.”

Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, he added. “There are lots of thorny legal issues, so we thought it would be a good idea to have a third member appointed by the attorney general.”

Rodrigues called the bill a “good re-set,” since there has been a “lack of structure” and a “lack of direction” at the agency over the years. But he declined to delve into the specifics of the problems at the regulatory body.

“My job is to work with my colleagues to craft a piece of legislation that's going to adequately regulate the cannabis industry, recognizing that it's still illegal federally, recognizing that lots of Massachusetts residents have their life savings tied up in this industry,” he said.

For more on the Senate bill, you can read my colleague Sam Drysdale’s story. I’m taking guesses on when a final version lands on the governor’s desk. Give me your best guess: [email protected].

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10:30 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at the Western Mass Arts Economic Impact Summit. | Mass MoCA, 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams

11:00 | U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley join Logan Airport workers as they push for proposals before the Massport Board  "that would improve workers' lives and enhance the guest experience at Logan International Airport," according to SEIU 32BJ. Also attending are Boston Center for Independent Living staff member Dan Harris, 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President Kevin Brown, Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and Chelsea City Councilor Robert Jimenez. | Logan Airport Terminal E, Outside between arrival level doors 103 and 104, Boston

12:30 | Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll tours the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to promote Gov. Maura Healey’s BRIGHT Act to modernize college campuses. | 87 Blackinton Street, North Adams

AARP thanks the Massachusetts House for passing H.4706, An Act to Improve Massachusetts Home Care, creating the state’s first Family Caregiver Commission. During National Family Caregivers Month, we urge the Senate to pass this vital bill and give the state’s 1.4 million caregivers the support they deserve. Learn more: aarp.org/ma

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DURANT BACKS SHORTSLEEVE: Sen. Peter Durant, a Spencer Republican who had weighed a run for governor, announced he is backing Brian Shortsleeve in the GOP primary. He is the first Republican state senator to endorse a candidate for the 2026 election. – Boston Herald

Big Pharma has a new scheme that will make them even more money: undermining patients' bargaining power and blaming anyone who gets in their way. If we want to solve the Rx cost crisis, we need to hold Big Pharma accountable. To find out how, go to saveourbenefitsma.org.

WU INAUGURATION: The swearing-in ceremony for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s second term is set for Jan. 5 inside Symphony Hall. The inauguration ceremony will also include the swearing-in of the Council. Wu’s inauguration committee, chaired by campaign manager Julia Leja, also announced that Jessicah Pierre is leaving her post as the Wu administration’s chief communications officer to work as the inauguration’s creative executive producer. – NBC Boston

BOSTON OFFICE: Boston is building more commercial space than other cities, well ahead of Manhattan, Dallas, Austin and Los Angeles, according to a new report.  – Boston Business Journal

FARE GATES: The newly installed fare gates at Boston’s South Station are set to switch on for commuter rail passengers in December. – MassLive

ENROLLMENT DROP: A decrease in international immigration is having an effect on Boston Public Schools, leading to a drop in enrollment, school officials said. – Dorchester Reporter

ICE RAID: The president of the Boston University College Republicans, who is also an intern for GOP candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve, is taking credit for an ICE raid of an Allston car wash, where nine employees were arrested. – Daily Free Press and Boston Globe

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IN MEMORIAM: Gerald Alston, a former Brookline firefighter who won an $11 million settlement after a legal battle with the town that started with a voicemail involving a lieutenant saying the N-word, has died. He was 57. – Brookline.News

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KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. The station is running an encore edition of the show hosted by political analyst Jon Keller, who was laid off in October. The guest is Jon Marcus, higher education editor for the Hechinger Report, a website covering educational issues. He discusses the shaky finances of higher ed, the potential impact of a drop in international students coming to the Boston area, and the future of online education. 

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in Nova Scotia, where she took a chainsaw to a tree that will be placed in Boston Common as a sign of the partnership between Boston and the province after a tragic explosion in 1917.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Congressman Jim McGovern.

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