CCC deals with hiring freeze, budget issues as legislature weighs agency restructuring
Photo | Edd Cote
The Cannabis Control Commission is headquarter at Worcester's Union Station.
A hiring freeze is in place and the plan for future regulatory work is to be determined at the Cannabis Control Commission, as lawmakers advance a budget its executive director has said is inadequate as well as legislation to entirely restructure the agency.
CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern talked through the moving pieces affecting the CCC, its work and its future during a meeting with the three commissioners who remain on the five-member panel. A House-approved bill that would downsize the CCC while also making significant changes to the regulatory frameworks for hemp and legal cannabis is now awaiting action in the Senate, the CCC just recently ironed out governance responsibilities between commissioners and staff, the agency got no traction on its request for a larger budget allocation next year, and long-awaited regulations for public consumption facilities are still pending.
"Obviously, a ton going on which we're all aware of," Ahern said Thursday.
The $19.88 million that Gov. Maura Healey, the House and the Senate have all backed for the CCC in the fiscal 2026 budget "does not meet the needs of the organization," Ahern said previously. The House and Senate budgets are now in conference talks, but those panels usually don't disturb areas of harmony between the two branches.
As it prepares for a thinner-than-desired budget next year, Ahern said the CCC is "in a hiring freeze based on our FY 26 budget projection" and is "evaluating right now vacancies and the appropriateness of having those posted within the context of that hiring freeze."
"If that were to be impacted by a potential supplemental budget availability ... that will change kind of the outlook. And I would just say as well, for those who are concerned at all about that hiring freeze, just to note publicly as well, that, you know, obviously a hiring freeze can be lifted," he said.
The executive director said the CCC will now look to convince lawmakers to add a little more than $3 million to the agency's budget for public awareness efforts, IT infrastructure improvements, and to continue to engage consultants around testing issues. The CCC previously asked for a $30.8 million outlay for fiscal year 2026, up from $19.8 million this year.
"So that would get us to a little bit more of a normal state prior to new work created through this [House-approved] bill," Ahern said. "And then, obviously, we'll be working with the Legislature to calculate the cost of implementing some of the changes contemplated in this bill as it moves forward with the Senate."
The bill that the House unanimously passed last week would downsize the CCC from five full-time commissioners to a panel of two part-time commissioners and one full-time chairperson, all appointed by the governor and with the chair empowered to hire the agency's executive director. But it would also put a lot of work on the CCC's plate, including newly regulating intoxicating hemp products, overseeing the elimination of the requirement that medical marijuana licensees grow and produce the products they sell, and raising the limit on retail licenses.
The House bill was sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday and the News Service asked committee chair Sen. Michael Rodrigues on Thursday about interest in the topic among senators.
"We're always interested to see what they do and we'll be taking a look at it," he said, adding, "Everything has some urgency about it, so we want to do everything in as timely a manner as possible."
Rodrigues emphasized that he's focused on other matters right now, mainly the annual state budget and surtax spending bills that are both in conference committee and a $532 million budget bill that the Senate plans to take up next week.
"My life's all about budgets right now," Rodrigues said.
The CCC approved a 16-page governance charter last month to clearly delineate the duties of commissioners, the executive director and staff following nearly three years of mediation and discussion. Some of that work could be rendered moot by the CCC restructuring now pending before the Senate.
Ahern told commissioners Thursday that the agency is "probably in a wait and see on where the Senate might be on that as they begin to take their steps forward."
"It does appear, as we look at the legislative process, the Senate may take a little bit more time before we probably get to a conference scenario on where the overall package looks," he said.
In the meantime, the CCC plans to meet again next week to pick up its work on social consumption regulations. The 2016 legalization ballot law contemplated establishments where adults could use legal cannabis in a social setting and the latest proposal was rolled out by commissioners in December. Ahern said the framework is through its initial read and has been marked up for additional work by commissioners.
Beyond social consumption and potentially rules to deal with a long-discussed issue with employee badging, Ahern said the CCC may go quiet on the regulatory front as things shake out on Beacon Hill.
"I think ultimately we're just going to have to continue to work with our partners in the Legislature on the timeline of when the Senate might be coming back with with their approach, and then also keeping an eye on when this could actually get through conference, because, from a regulatory perspective of the commissioners, that's going to impact kind of the schedule for the whole year," the executive director said.
Michael P. Norton of State House News Service contributed reporting.
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