BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State legislative session technically ends Wednesday, but a legislative source told us Tuesday that session might be extended until the end of the week for lawmakers to work on recreational cannabis.
Sunday, the NYS Senate and Assembly introduced a bill which would expunge criminal records for low level marijuana offenses and reduce punishments for possession of small amounts to fines of less than two-hundred dollars.
The latest version of the comprehensive recreational cannabis bill out last week addresses more than that. It's 114 pages long and spells out how the New York State Cannabis Revenue Fund would work and where that money would go.
2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik spoke with Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes in May about recreational cannabis.
"We need to make sure that people's records are expunged, and or sealed, who have been convicted of low-level marijuana crimes, and we also need to make sure there's opportunities for business," said Peoples-Stokes.
Peoples-Stokes told us in May that the recreational cannabis bill would very likely pass before the end of session. Since she first proposed the Marijuana Tax and Regulation Act six years ago, her sticking points have remained the same.
"There has to be some investment in communities that have been negatively impacted by the mass war and incarceration, once we get that, I think we're good," she said.
Peoples-Stokes says clearing low-level marijuana convictions would have a big impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
"Which means they can fill out an application without saying, I'm a felon," she said. "It also means that they can fill out a Pell Grant and maybe get some resources to go to college. They can live in public housing, which you can't even live in public housing if you're a convicted felon."
The legislative session is supposed to end Wednesday, but it can be extended by Governor Andrew Cuomo or legislators themselves.