WASHINGTON — A controversial provision meant to restrict the District of Columbia from creating a commercial market for marijuana sales is absent from the first draft of a major government spending bill for the first time since 2014.
Known commonly as the 'Harris Rider', aptly named for Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris, the provision has prevented D.C. from being able to legalize the sale of marijuana. The provision has been added to the federal budget every year since 2014, which was the same year District voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 71 which legalized possession and personal use of marijuana in small amounts.
“Congressman Harris has not changed his mind about the danger of legalizing marijuana in D.C.," said Harris spokesperson Anna Adamian. "But given the potential rescheduling of the drug and the appearance of Delta 8 on the market, the language needs to be amended and we are working on that.”
When Initiative 71 took effect in 2015, small marijuana dispensaries began to operate with a gifting system; an item of value was sold to a customer, and an amount of marijuana less than two ounces was then "gifted" to the customer.
"I think this is kind of the first indication that Congress may be taking the yolk off the District's neck with respect to drug policy," said D.C. attorney Meredith Kinner. "This is a very big deal. The District has had to contort its medical program to be as inclusive as possible. This will be the first step toward allowing the District to control its own destiny with respect to cannabis."
It's important to note that this is the very first step in the lengthy federal budgeting process. An amendment could be added to the bill re-inserting the language about D.C. and it's possible Senate appropriators could add it in as well.
Current funding for the federal government expires on September 30 and if lawmakers don't pass a new budget by that date a government shutdown would ensue.
Historically, when legislators feel they will fail to meet a budget deadline, they will sometimes pass what's known as a 'continuing resolution', or CR, which extends all the provisions of a previously approved budget bill to a newly established deadline.
The newly released proposed budget document contains some 100 references to the "District of Columbia" and there are a handful of provisions that both provide help to the District and others that local leaders oppose.
The office of Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) provided WUSA9 with a list of what they call "anti-home-rule riders."
"I am pleased with many of the provisions in the text of the D.C. spending bill released by the House Appropriations Committee today," said Delegate Norton, "which I was able to secure despite Republican control of the House.”
- Permits anyone with a concealed carry permit from any state or territory to carry a concealed handgun in D.C. and on WMATA.
- Provides $20 million for the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG), a 50% decrease in funding from last year’s level for the program created by a 1999 Norton bill. DCTAG makes up the difference for D.C. residents between in-state and out-of-state tuition up to $10,000 at public institutions of higher education in the United States.
- Repeals D.C.’s Death with Dignity Act.
- Maintains the existing abortion rider, which prohibits D.C. from spending its own local funds on abortions for low-income women.
- Prohibits D.C. from spending its own local funds to enforce its vehicle emission standards.
- Prohibits D.C. from using local funds to enact or carry out any law that prohibits motorists from making right turns on red, including the D.C. Safer Streets Amendment Act of 2022.
- Prohibits D.C. from using local funds to carry out its automated traffic enforcement law.
- Repeals a portion of D.C.‘s Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) law that currently exempts the D.C. government.
- Prohibits D.C. from using local funds to implement its law allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections or on activities related to enrolling or registering noncitizens into voter rolls for local elections.
- Requires D.C. to report on maternity care access.
- Prohibits D.C. from using local funds to carry out the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014.
- Prohibits D.C. from using local funds to implement its Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.
- Reduces the maximum age of eligibility for D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 1985.
- Prohibits the use of local funds “to implement, administer, or enforce any COVID-19 mask or vaccine mandate.”
- Allows new students to enroll in the D.C. private school voucher program, instead of only permitting current students to remain in the program. Congress imposed the voucher program on the District, which is the only federally funded or created voucher program, even though Congress has rejected a national voucher program.
Norton's office also provided a list of what they characterized as "victories."
- The bill exempts D.C. from federal government shutdowns in FY 2025. Norton has gotten annual shutdown exemptions enacted every year since the 2013 federal government shutdown.
- The bill provides $8 million for D.C. Water for ongoing work to control flooding in D.C. and to clean up the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Rock Creek.
- The bill provides $77 million for the Emergency Planning and Security Fund, including $47 million for the upcoming presidential inauguration. The fund pays for the unique public safety and security costs the District incurs as the nation's capital, and is designed to cover the District's costs upfront so D.C. does not need to expend local funds and then seek an appropriation to be reimbursed for such costs after the fact.
- The bill provides $600,000 for the Major General David F. Wherley, Jr. District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Program.
- The bill provides $4 million to combat HIV/AIDS in D.C.
The budget bill is scheduled for a "mark-up" session Wednesday morning where lawmakers will consider and vote on changes and advance the bill to the full Appropriations Committee.
The next step involves a vote on the House floor and then transmission of the budget bill to the Senate which will offer changes.
After the Senate votes on its version of the budget, a final bill is considered by a conference committee made up of both House and Senate members. Each chamber will take one final vote on the collaborative document and if it passes it is then transmitted to the President for his signature.
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