Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Legislation to allow the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes was approved by four out of five state senators earlier this year.
Statewide polling shows the concept is supported by an incredible nine out of 10 voters.
Anecdotally, medical marijuana has the support or tacit acceptance of prosecutors and law enforcement officers around the state.
And while the House of Representatives may be bogged down at present with a contentious debate of budget and taxes, Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, says he would like to see a vote on the bill later this summer.
"I want to see it not just come to a vote. I want to get it signed into law," Reed told reporters last week. For his part, Gov. Tom Wolf says he would sign the legislation swiftly.
Apparently, the only thing standing in the way of the legislation is House Health Committee Chairman Matt Baker, R-Tioga, who says he is categorically opposed to state action on the issue until medical marijuana has federal Food and Drug Administration approval.
As committee chair, Baker controls the committee agenda. While he is only one vote on the committee, a bill can't be voted until he says so.
True, he's answerable to the Speaker of the House who could replace him as chairman if the Speaker wants to see marijuana legislation called up for a vote.
But in this case, Speaker Mike Turzai shares Baker's views. Besides, Reed is rigdht. The legislative agenda right now is budget, budget, budget.
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli, a Republican from Delaware County, is in the process of invoking House Rule 53, an obscure parliamentary maneuver to discharge Baker's committee from the duty of any further review of the Senate bill (SB 3).
As of Friday, Miccarelli was in the process of gathering at least 25 co-sponsors for his resolution.
Once the minimum of 25 signatures has been reached, Miccarelli can call for an immediate vote on his resolution — but not the med marijuana bill itself.
Once the bill is pulled out of the Baker committee — if it is — it could then be re-referred to another House committee for review (say the Appropriations Committee for analysis of what, if any, fiscal impact the bill would have on the Commonwealth budget or to the Rules Committee). It makes Reed's call for a late summer vote seem clairvoyant.
In at least one way, Miccarelli's resolution already has been successful.
Rep. Ron Marsico of Dauphin County, chairman of the House judiciary committee, is introducing his own medical marijuana legislation and hopes that Speaker Turzai will assign it to his committee, skirting Baker's opposition.
Discharge resolutions are a rare occurrence in the General Assembly, mainly because they are a challenge to authority.
You have, in effect, 25 legislators challenging the decisions of the House power structure. Only a handful of discharge resolutions have been proposed in the last decade.
Only one is believed to have been successful in the last half century —in October 2008 when Rep. Tom Killion, a Republican from Delaware County, forced the Democrat-controlled House leadership to release medical malpractice insurance legislation from the Appropriations Committee.
Typically, discharge resolutions are launched by members of the minority party to force a vote on controversial legislation,
In 2010, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican from Butler County, forced the House State Government Committee to release a bill on illegal immigration — although it never made it into law.
In September 2007, Rep. Mark Mustio of Allegheny County used a discharge resolution in an unsuccessful attempt to advance legislation to reduce the size of the General Assembly.
Discharge resolutions are rarely effective in producing clear victories for their advocates.
They can force a vote on an issue but, since it's still majority rule, the final outcome most often ends up in favor of the controlling party leadership.
The elected leadership has too many tools in its arsenal. You can force a bill out of committee, but it may end up in another committee (starting the clock on another discharge resolution).
You can get the bill onto the legislative calendar but you can't necessarily call it up for a floor vote. But you can also, in the process, make a lot of enemies. At least, that's been the history of the General Assembly.
The point is that when a bill is being stonewalled, it's not simply that committee chairs have extensive powers. You're bucking the system and the system has been in place for centuries.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Tony May
Photo Credit: James Robinson
Website: Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com
Statewide polling shows the concept is supported by an incredible nine out of 10 voters.
Anecdotally, medical marijuana has the support or tacit acceptance of prosecutors and law enforcement officers around the state.
And while the House of Representatives may be bogged down at present with a contentious debate of budget and taxes, Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, says he would like to see a vote on the bill later this summer.
"I want to see it not just come to a vote. I want to get it signed into law," Reed told reporters last week. For his part, Gov. Tom Wolf says he would sign the legislation swiftly.
Apparently, the only thing standing in the way of the legislation is House Health Committee Chairman Matt Baker, R-Tioga, who says he is categorically opposed to state action on the issue until medical marijuana has federal Food and Drug Administration approval.
As committee chair, Baker controls the committee agenda. While he is only one vote on the committee, a bill can't be voted until he says so.
True, he's answerable to the Speaker of the House who could replace him as chairman if the Speaker wants to see marijuana legislation called up for a vote.
But in this case, Speaker Mike Turzai shares Baker's views. Besides, Reed is rigdht. The legislative agenda right now is budget, budget, budget.
State Rep. Nick Miccarelli, a Republican from Delaware County, is in the process of invoking House Rule 53, an obscure parliamentary maneuver to discharge Baker's committee from the duty of any further review of the Senate bill (SB 3).
As of Friday, Miccarelli was in the process of gathering at least 25 co-sponsors for his resolution.
Once the minimum of 25 signatures has been reached, Miccarelli can call for an immediate vote on his resolution — but not the med marijuana bill itself.
Once the bill is pulled out of the Baker committee — if it is — it could then be re-referred to another House committee for review (say the Appropriations Committee for analysis of what, if any, fiscal impact the bill would have on the Commonwealth budget or to the Rules Committee). It makes Reed's call for a late summer vote seem clairvoyant.
In at least one way, Miccarelli's resolution already has been successful.
Rep. Ron Marsico of Dauphin County, chairman of the House judiciary committee, is introducing his own medical marijuana legislation and hopes that Speaker Turzai will assign it to his committee, skirting Baker's opposition.
Discharge resolutions are a rare occurrence in the General Assembly, mainly because they are a challenge to authority.
You have, in effect, 25 legislators challenging the decisions of the House power structure. Only a handful of discharge resolutions have been proposed in the last decade.
Only one is believed to have been successful in the last half century —in October 2008 when Rep. Tom Killion, a Republican from Delaware County, forced the Democrat-controlled House leadership to release medical malpractice insurance legislation from the Appropriations Committee.
Typically, discharge resolutions are launched by members of the minority party to force a vote on controversial legislation,
In 2010, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican from Butler County, forced the House State Government Committee to release a bill on illegal immigration — although it never made it into law.
In September 2007, Rep. Mark Mustio of Allegheny County used a discharge resolution in an unsuccessful attempt to advance legislation to reduce the size of the General Assembly.
Discharge resolutions are rarely effective in producing clear victories for their advocates.
They can force a vote on an issue but, since it's still majority rule, the final outcome most often ends up in favor of the controlling party leadership.
The elected leadership has too many tools in its arsenal. You can force a bill out of committee, but it may end up in another committee (starting the clock on another discharge resolution).
You can get the bill onto the legislative calendar but you can't necessarily call it up for a floor vote. But you can also, in the process, make a lot of enemies. At least, that's been the history of the General Assembly.
The point is that when a bill is being stonewalled, it's not simply that committee chairs have extensive powers. You're bucking the system and the system has been in place for centuries.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Tony May
Photo Credit: James Robinson
Website: Central PA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - PennLive.com
