COURTS

Raimondo sues Assembly over pot regulation

Patrick Anderson,Tom Mooney
panderson@providencejournal.com

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Gina Raimondo on Tuesday sued the General Assembly to regain full control of medical marijuana and hemp regulation, and asked a Superior Court judge to rule unconstitutional new powers lawmakers gave themselves over the emerging industry this summer.

This year's state budget authorized six new medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island while making all new cannabis-related regulations "subject to approval by the General Assembly prior to enactment," over Raimondo's strenuous objection.

With the governor moving toward legal action last week, The Journal on Sunday reported that House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello had agreed to give up "legislative veto" power and would seek legislation to amend the law when the General Assembly returns to session in January.

That didn't satisfy Raimondo, who sued Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio to get the court to, as she would later tell reporters, "enforce the Constitution" and "let people know that Rhode Island is open for business, everyone has a chance to compete, and it’s just not for the politically connected."

Raimondo aides said they were not aware of a similar example of a Rhode Island governor suing the legislature in at least 25 years.

"These legislative veto provisions violate the separation of powers form of government demanded — and enacted — by the voters in 2004," says the complaint from Raimondo chief legal counsel Claire Richards.

Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Executive Director John Marion Jr. has railed against legislative control of marijuana regulations for months, saying it introduces political meddling into decisions that should be made by subject-matter experts and presents opportunities for corruption.

Asked about the timing of the suit, coming four months after the budget was enacted and after the speaker had agreed to reverse course, Raimondo said the suit was meant to avoid any delay in allowing new dispensaries and "put some sunshine" on the issue.

"That was an abrupt and rapid change in his position after he got wind we were going to file this lawsuit," Raimondo said about Mattiello's promise to give up control. "I am not implying any shenanigans. What I’m saying is, it was tucked into a $9-billion budget without any discussions, without any hearings, without any transparency.

A news release from Raimondo's office announcing the lawsuit says the Department of Business Regulation wants to propose new medical marijuana regulations within a month and hopes to award the rights to open new dispensaries through a lottery system.

Responding through their spokespeople Tuesday, Mattiello and Ruggerio called the lawsuit a waste of time and money because both top lawmakers had already agreed to give up the legislative veto.

"This is an unnecessary expense by the governor of state taxpayers’ dollars and judicial resources because the General Assembly leadership has already indicated that legislation will be introduced in January to remove this provision in the law," House spokesman Larry Berman and Senate spokesman Greg Pare wrote in an email.

What does the speaker think about awarding dispensary licenses by lottery?

"The devil is in the details, which we haven’t seen," Berman said. "The regulations are an area that need significant review and oversight. We hope the media will shine a light on what’s happening in this regard."

The lawsuit over marijuana regulations comes during run of bad publicity for Mattiello, including questions from the state Republican Party about the involvement of the speaker's deputy chief of staff, who is an owner of a hemp business, in the new cannabis rules. (Mattiello's office said the aide, Grant Pilkington, was not involved.)

Over the weekend, Berman described the original impetus for General Assembly control over marijuana as providing the same kind of "open and transparent" process Raimondo says she wants in providing oversight of the executive branch.

Without the legislative veto, scrutiny of the Raimondo administration's handling of medical marijuana and hemp will come from the House Oversight Committee, he said. Pilkington was clerk of the Oversight Committee, but those assignments are evaluated before each session.

"The House Oversight Committee does not review legislation but holds hearings to look more closely at other government agencies," Berman wrote in an email. "This year, examples include the UHIP debacle, the troubled DCYF and the myriad of problems with medical transportation provider MTM."