Virginia Lawmakers Pass Competing Bills to Allow Adult-Use Cannabis Sales

The Virginia House and Senate have each passed competing versions of a bill
to legalize adult-use cannabis sales in the commonwealth, Foaley Hoag
reports.

House lawmakers passed HB 642 by a 65-32 vote on Tuesday morning, and the
Senate narrowly passed SB 542 by a 21-19 vote several hours later.

The largely similar proposals would establish licenses for cannabis
cultivators, retailers, manufacturers, microbusinesses, testing facilities,
and transportation services. The licenses would be awarded by lottery and
the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would be designated the industry’s
prime regulator.

The proposals differ in their proposed tax rates — SB 542 seeks to set a
12.875% tax rate with up to 3% in local taxes, while HB 642 proposes a 6%
cannabis tax plus a local tax of between 1% and 3.5%. Additionally, the
proposal passed by the Senate calls for combining the state’s cannabis and
alcohol agencies to form the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Cannabis Control
Authority. The Senate version of the bill also sets a later start date,
January 1, 2027, compared to the House’s proposed start date, November 1,
2026.

Next, leaders from each legislative body will need to meet and reconcile
the bills into a unified proposal.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said during last year’s election that
as governor, she would sign a cannabis sales legalization bill if one were
to reach her desk.

The bills were introduced together in January, about five years after
former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed a very similar cannabis sales
framework.