Governor Andrew Cuomo had hoped that in 2019 the bill on the legalization of marijuana will be passed in the budget thanks to the support of members of the City Council. On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that he had abandoned this idea, because I couldn’t come to an agreement on this issue with members of the City Council.
The decision of the Governor was taken after closed-door talks with the speaker of the Assembly Carl Chisti and majority leader in the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins. They are not convinced by the Governor that revenues from legalization will help to balance the budget deficit, which is over $3 billion According to estimates by Cuomo, the tax on marijuana could bring $300 million over three years. The Governor also planned to send tax revenue from marijuana for the repair and improvement of the MTA.
Instead, Cuomo plans to introduce a tax on profits. If the proposal is approved, an additional fee will be charged to condominiums and cooperative apartments in new York worth more than $5 million, most of which belong to residents of other countries using apartments for business and leisure trips.
Cuomo: Pot legalization dropped from New York state budget: Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that a bill legalizing marijuana — and the anticipated revenue from such a proposal — would not be… https://t.co/qV11sOh0Ih #ImpeachTrump #ImpeachKavanaugh #TheResistance pic.twitter.com/SkqUKsQCZd
— Patrick (@cahulaan) March 20, 2019
However, the Governor does not reject completely the idea of legalizing marijuana. Policymakers can revisit the issue after the budget and before the end of the legislative session on June 19.
Cuomo recognizes that the easiest way would be to pass a law through the budget. At the legislative session, the bill may face a lot of difficulties, but it is certain that this sentence has the future, and sooner or later it will still be accepted.
Now the recreational use of marijuana is allowed in 10 States and the district of Columbia, and 34 state support the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
The survey, published on Monday, the Siena Research Institute, showed that 53% of voters believe marijuana legalization is a good idea and 44% against it.
The owners of new York’s Bodegas have already expressed their desire to sell cannabis after it is legalized.
As a member of the city Council of new York Jumaan Williams proposed a bill that would forbid companies to test new employees when hiring, as well as those working on probation for marijuana use.
