Every
now and then you get a story that helps explain the Statehouse power
dynamic. The saga of the “intoxicating hemp” regulation bill is one of
those stories.
The
governor’s office began last week by handing House Speaker Chris Welch a list
of 62 House Democrats who said they would vote for the hemp regulation
bill.
The
day ended with the bill in flames and a decision by the House Speaker not to
move forward.
The
reasons for one of the biggest high-profile legislative setbacks the governor
has ever had are varied.
Last
month, the governor surprised some folks by endorsing legislation that had
passed the Senate but then completely stalled out in the House after fierce
opposition amongst a clearly divided House Democratic caucus. Instead of
working to modify the legislation to mollify most concerns, Pritzker decided to
push ahead, albeit with some changes.
That,
as it turns out, was a mistake. Enough residual opposition remained to
create big problems.
As
you already know, Speaker Welch has required almost every bill to have the
support of 60 House Democrats before he’ll agree to advance the legislation to
the floor. And Pritzker’s Monday roll call was hotly disputed by some
members.
Asked
if the governor really had more than 60 votes nailed down going into that
marathon caucus meeting, Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said, “I can’t say for
sure, but it certainly didn’t seem like it from sitting in that room.”
That
caucus was about as raucous as it could get. At Speaker Welch’s request,
the governor sent some top policy experts to make a presentation and answer
questions. The two staffers were angrily heckled with insults and
misinformation, to the point where one of Pritzker’s staffers left in tears
after being called a liar and worse. The other was pulled out of the
meeting by top staff shortly afterward.
The
governor is understandably highly protective of his staff. And his top
staff, who have the sharpest elbows in the business, were enraged.
The
meeting left the Pritzker folks feeling like they’d been set up. They’d
done what they were asked to do with the roll call, but instead of just
bringing the bill to the floor, where it was likely to receive wide bipartisan
support and as many as 90 votes, Welch stood back and allowed some of his
members to go completely off the rails during an hours-long caucus that
resulted in the bill’s demise (although, it could be said in his defense that
having an argument like that in private would be preferable to letting all that
vitriol against the governor become public during a floor debate).
Welch
tends to pull back when his caucus is divided. We’ve seen that happen
before, including on budget deals that had to be redone after Welch received
negative internal feedback.
That
behavior can be seen as a good thing – an improvement over the days when
Speaker Michael Madigan would tell his members they were doing something even
when they were reluctant. But most leaders have also tended to know what
their caucuses would stomach before they cut any deals or allowed a governor to
lobby their members.
Throw
in the recent chaos caused by the loss of just about every member of Welch’s
senior staff, and now you’ve got even bigger problems.
In
this business, there’s support and then there’s support. Members might
know that they’ll have to vote for a bill if it reaches the floor, but they’d
rather not be forced to choose. And peer pressure can be a major factor in
stuff like this, particularly in a caucus where it seems like everything goes
and no brakes are ever being applied.
The
bill was perceived to be a threat to the very existence of hemp businesses
owned by those locked out of the legal cannabis system. And many of those
folks are people of color, and lots operate in neighborhoods that don’t have an
abundance of local storefront entrepreneurs.
Many
Illinoisans dislike the myriad janky gas stations and head shops that are
openly selling an intoxicating product to anyone who is tall enough to reach
the counter. But the main pushback was about how the regulatory bill
favored the existing cannabis industry and long-established alcohol
distributors at the expense of the little guy. The basic Senate proposal was
seen as: Gather the big powers around the table and divide up the
spoils. But that didn’t go down well in the House this time.
And
now nobody is quite sure how to clean up this mess.
This article appears in Adams Street at a crossroads.
