Wisconsin Senate committee votes 4-1 on bill to boost pot punishment options

The office of Wisconsin State Sen. Rick Gudex (R- Fond du Lac) has confirmed that Senate Bill 150 has been voted out of the Committee on Economic Development and Local Governmentwhich he chairs. Sen. Gudex is the lead Senate sponsor of SB150, which would expand options for penalizing the possession of marijuana.

Sen. Julie Lassa (D- Stevens Point) joined the committee’s three Republicans, Gudex, Sen. Joe Liebham (R-Sheboygan) and Sen. Jerry Petrowski (R- Marathon) in voting to send SB150 to the Senate floor. Only Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), who spoke strongly against it during the bill’s hearing on June 12, voted against. The voting was done by paper ballot with the ballots due by 2 p.m. June 25.

Previously, SB150’s Assembly version, AB 164 received a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Urban and Local Affairs on May 21, 2013 and then passed out of committee on June 4 with a party line 5-3 vote with one absent.

Representatives of state marijuana law reform groups including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws(NORML), Is My Medicine YET? (IMMLY), the Ben Masel Project, Norml Women’s Alliance of Wisconsin and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) testified against the bills at the hearings. The sole group in favor was the League of Wisconsin Municipalities which registered in support at the Senate committee hearing.

A call to the office of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asking whether AB164 would receive an Assembly floor vote was not immediately returned.

A staff member in Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s office said no decision had been made on any potential floor vote and noted the Senate was adjourned until Sept. 17.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/senate-committee-votes-4-1-on-bill-to-boost-pot-punishment-options