Title 21
Food and Drugs

Chapter 28.11
The Rhode Island Cannabis Act

§ 21-28.11-4. Cannabis control commission.

(a) Establishment of commission. There is hereby established an independent commission known as the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission (commission). The purpose of the commission is to oversee the regulation, licensing and control of adult use and medical cannabis and upon transfer of powers pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28.11-10.1, to exercise primary responsibility to oversee the regulation, licensing and control of all cannabis and marijuana use to include medical marijuana.

(b) Appointment of commissioners. The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission shall consist of three (3) voting commissioners as follows:

(1) The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, the three (3) voting members of the commission. The speaker of the house shall, within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this chapter, submit to the governor a list of three (3) individuals that the governor shall give due consideration in appointing one individual from this list. The governor shall appoint the other two (2) commissioners without regard to the list submitted by the speaker of the house. The governor shall designate one of the members to serve as chairperson of the commission. Within forty (40) days of the effective date of this chapter, the governor shall submit to the senate for advice and consent the list of three (3) individuals for appointment to the commission along with the governor’s designation of chairperson.

(2) Prior to appointment to the commission, a background investigation shall be conducted into the financial stability, integrity and responsibility of each appointee, including the appointee’s reputation for good character, and honesty. No commissioner or commissioner’s spouse, or child shall have any interest whatsoever in any entity regulated by the commission.

(c) Commissioner requirements. Each commissioner shall be a resident of the state within ninety (90) days of appointment, and while serving on the commission, shall not:

(1) Hold, or be a candidate for, federal, state or local elected office;

(2) Hold an appointed office or other employment in a federal, state or local government; or

(3) Serve as an official in a political party.

(d) Term Limits. Term limits on the initial commissioners shall be as follows: The appointee chosen after consideration of the list provided to the governor by the speaker of the house shall serve an initial term of three (3) years and shall be eligible for reappointment in accordance with this section. Of the appointees chosen by the governor without regard to the list submitted by the speaker of the house, one shall serve an initial term of two (2) years, and one shall serve an initial term of one year and both shall be eligible for reappointment in accordance with this section.

(1) Each initial commissioner is eligible for reappointment for one six (6) year term or until a successor is appointed. Each subsequent commissioner shall serve for a term of six (6) years or until a successor is appointed. Every person appointed or reappointed to fill a vacancy on the cannabis control commission shall be appointed in the manner established pursuant to this section.

(2) If a vacancy is created prior to the expiration of any commissioner’s term, said vacancy shall be filled in the manner established pursuant to this section. Any person appointed to fill said vacancy shall complete the commissioner’s unexpired term and shall then be eligible for reappointment for one additional term pursuant to this section.

(e) Compensation. The chairperson of the commission shall devote their full time attention to the duties of the commission. Upon confirmation, the chairperson shall become a state employee and shall receive a salary as determined by the governor subject to appropriation by the general assembly. The remaining commissioners shall not be state employees but shall receive a monthly stipend as determined by the governor, subject to appropriation by the general assembly, and shall devote sufficient time and attention to the commission to adequately perform their duties.

(f) Records. The commission shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission and the chair shall be the custodian and keeper of the records of all books, documents and papers filed by the commission and of its minute book. The chair shall cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the commission and shall certify that such copies are true copies and all persons dealing with the commission may rely upon such certification. These records shall also be subject to the provisions of title 38, “public records.” The chair shall have and exercise supervision and control over all the affairs of the commission. The chair shall preside at all hearings at which the chair is present and shall designate a commissioner to act as chair in the chair’s absence. To promote efficiency in administration, the chair shall make such division or re-division of the work of the commission among the commissioners, as the chair deems expedient.

(g) Conduct of hearings. The commissioners shall, if so directed by the chair, participate in the hearing and decision of any matter before the commission.

(1) For purposes of this section, “formal matter”, as so designated by the chair, shall include all non-procedural matters to include, but not limited to, hearings subject to the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42 (the “administrative procedures act”) and all decisions relative to the awarding of a license or to the denial or revocation of licenses. A majority of the commissioners is required to hear and approve all formal matters.

(2) For purposes of this section, “procedural matters”, as so designated by the chair, include scheduling, inclusion of agenda items, administrative compliance decisions, ministerial matters, routine clerical functions, and any other act delegated by the commission to be performed by an employee of the commission or the cannabis office. Any procedural or administrative matter may be heard, examined and investigated by a single commissioner or an employee of the commission or the cannabis office as designated and assigned by the chair, with the concurrence of one other commissioner. If designated by the commission or the cannabis office, the designated employee shall make a report in writing relative to the hearing, examination and investigation of every procedural or administrative matter. For the purposes of hearing, examining and investigating any procedural or administrative matter, the designated employee shall have all of the powers conferred upon a commissioner by this section. Any procedural or administrative decision made by a single commissioner or designated employee may be appealed within ten (10) days of issuance of the decision for a hearing before the full commission.

(h) Ethics. The provisions of chapter 14 of title 36, the state code of ethics, shall apply to the commissioners and to employees operating under the jurisdiction of the commission to include, but not limited to, personnel of the cannabis office; provided, however, that the commission may promulgate an internal code of ethics for all members and employees that may be more restrictive than the provisions of chapter 14 of title 36. A copy of any internal code of ethics adopted or as amended shall be filed with the state ethics commission. The internal code may include provisions reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(i) Public body. The cannabis control commission shall be a public body for the purposes of chapter 46 of title 42 (the “open meetings act”).

(j) Finance. The commission shall, for the purposes of compliance with state finance law, and subject to appropriation by the general assembly, operate as an independent state agency and shall be subject to the laws applicable to agencies under the control of the governor; provided, however, that the chairperson may identify any additional instructions or actions necessary for the department of administration to manage fiscal operations in the state accounting system and meet statewide and other governmental accounting and audit standards. The commission shall properly classify the commission’s operating and capital expenditures, and shall not include any salaries of employees in the commission’s capital expenditures. Unless otherwise exempted by law, the commission shall participate in any other available state administrative services including, but not limited to, the state payroll system, the state retirement system, and state purchases.

(k) Prohibition on discrimination. The commission and all personnel and employees operating under the jurisdiction of the commission to include, but not limited to, personnel of the cannabis office, shall not unlawfully discriminate by considering race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, or disability in granting, denying, or revoking a license, nor shall any person, corporation, or business firm which is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter unlawfully discriminate against or segregate any person based on these grounds. All businesses licensed by the commission shall operate on a nondiscriminatory basis, according to equal employment treatment and access to their services to all persons, unless otherwise exempted by the laws of the state. Any licensee who fails to comply with this policy is subject to any disciplinary action that is consistent with the legal authority and rules and regulations of the commission. The commission shall cooperate with the state equal opportunity office to prevent any person, corporation, or business firm from unlawfully discriminating because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, or disability or from participating in any practice which may have a disparate effect on any protected class within the population. The state equal opportunity office shall monitor the equal employment opportunity activities and affirmative action plans of the commission.