JUNEAU — The state is soliciting resumes for potential members of a new marijuana regulatory board, although lawmakers are still working on legislation to create such a board.
The House Labor and Commerce Committee heard an update Friday on the latest bill draft, which would create a five-member board that would share staff and resources with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
The voter initiative legalizing recreational marijuana directed the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to write the regulations for a new marijuana industry. But the initiative also gave the Legislature the option of creating a new marijuana board to do that work. The governor introduced companion bills to create that board in the House and Senate last month.
The new draft would give the marijuana board staff enforcement authority and have the two marijuana industry members called for in the governor's original bill come from the alcohol industry for the first two years.
ABC Board executive director Cynthia Franklin said that although the agency wanted marijuana expertise for the board, it was not opposed to having individuals who were familiar with the alcohol regulatory process for the first two years.
Further work on the draft is possible, and committee vice chair Rep. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, said it would be brought back up for discussion on Monday.
The state on Thursday posted online a request for resumes from anyone interested in serving on a new marijuana board, which boards and commissions director Karen Gillis said was a way to get a jumpstart on the process.
Gillis wrote in an email that the governor's office had received 12 applications for the new board since December, although no solicitation for members occurred before Thursday.