Newport This Week

Council Wants Control of Marijuana Revenue



The Newport City Council unanimously accepted a resolution to give cities and towns more control over revenue raised by potential retail marijuana sales, pending the outcome of legalization on the state level.

At the council’s May 12 meeting, City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson, Jr. said the bill to distribute marijuana sales fees, taxes and related revenue is moving forward at the statehouse. He placed the resolution on the council agenda in his capacity as council representative at the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.

“I thought perhaps the council might want to weigh in, in some manner or form, if the governor’s budget does pass as written and thus incorporates this into the law,” he said. “The council would go on record, at least commenting on this, as most cities and towns are doing in Rhode Island.”

Nicholson added that if recreational marijuana use becomes legal, municipalities might want to correct “nuances of the legislation” before it is finalized. If it passes, municipalities can “opt out in endorsing facilities,” through a referendum in November, he said.

“The decision should rest with city and town councils. You get to decide if you want this,” Nicholson said.

Other factors, such as the sales tax and who gets the money from the tax, have yet to be decided. Gov. Dan McKee has floated a 3 percent local sales tax to be distributed among cities and towns, based on what Nicholson called “a very complex formula.”

“The position of Rhode Island Cities and Towns is we don’t want the state to control those funds, [but want them] paid directly to municipalities,” he said. “Also, there are some issues about the number of licenses that should be controlled. Who should be making the decisions, or should it go to an opt-out referendum?

“It’s really empowerment,” he said. “Should the state be making decisions for the city of Newport?”

Councilor Kate Leonard said the issue was “as always, about money.

“We could almost guarantee that very little [of the sales tax revenue] would come to Newport,” she said.

Councilor Jamie Bova said she would support greater local control over sales, but had concerns about what the resolution termed “employer safeguards,” and HIPAA confidentiality laws that might be violated.

Most criminal law is determined on the state level, city solicitor Christopher Behan said. Nicholson said conflicts might arise when marijuana use crossed federal lines, such as use on a U.S. naval base.

One response to “Council Wants Control of Marijuana Revenue”

  1. I agree that local towns and cities should have approval for sales, and how many licenses should be issued, but Town Councils are totally unqualified to do more! Newport city council is really ineffective as far as I am concerned. Look what has happened to our waterfront, the sales of second homes of which no additional taxes are paid, just sayin.

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