South Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill Dies On House Floor Following Procedural Challenge
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A bill to legalize medical marijuana in South Carolina died on the House floor on Wednesday following a nuanced debate over the constitutionality of the legislative process that the measure has moved through—before any discussion of the merits of the bill itself could occur. Advocates had already expected pushback on the Senate-passed legislation sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis (R), with opponents filing more than 1,000 amendments ahead of its floor consideration. But things became even more complicated after a constitutional challenge from Rep. John McCravy (R), who raised a point of order against the Senate bill, claiming that because it involves a tax on medical cannabis, it should have originated in the House under the state constitution’s provisions for legislation that raises revenue. House Speaker Pro Tem Thomas Pope (R) mulled the issue over during a lunch break and later ruled to sustain the point of order. Rep. Todd Rutherford (D) then sought to appeal the ruling, saying he planned an amendment to scrap the tax language later, but there was a subsequent motion to table his appeal, which was agreed upon by the body in a 59-55 vote, effectively killing the measure. Davis’s bill passed the Senate along largely bipartisan lines in February, after which point it moved to the House and cleared committee. The House voted 59-55 to table Rutherford’s appeal on the medical marijuana bill. Here’s @SenTomDavisSC watching the vote. pic.twitter.com/9pfHbP0R0Y — Maayan Schechter (@MaayanSchechter) May 4, 2022 Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, contested Pope’s interpretation of the law, specifically pointing out in an email to Marijuana Moment that medical cannabis would be exempt from the state’s sales tax under the bill and so the separate six percent levy used to justify Wednesday’s ruling would not actually raise revenue. As drafted,…

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