The Alaska House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would revise the state’s tax structure on cannabis. If passed by the Senate, House Bill 119 will change the tax from $50 per ounce ($800 per pound) of product to a 7% sales tax. 

HB 119 passed the House 36-3; voting against the measure were Reps. Ben Carpenter, David Eastman, and CJ McCormick.

In 2014, voters in Alaska approved a ballot measure legalizing commercial growing and sales of cannabis, and accompanying tax structure.

Alaska is one of five states, including Colorado, Maine, Nevada, and New Jersey, that use use a weight-based cannabis tax, where growers have the responsibility for remitting taxes based on the weight of various parts of the plants. 

With the proposed sales tax, Alaska’s tax occurs at the point of sale, rather than on the growers, who now represent the largest agricultural sector in Alaska in the less than a decade that growing and selling marijuana has been legal. 

The top taxes for marijuana in the nation remain:

• Washington: 37%
• Virginia: 21%
• Montana: 20%
• Arizona: 16%
• California and Colorado: 15%

The only other true statewide sales tax in Alaska is the 8 cents per gallon for highway fuel and 5 cents per gallon on marine fuel collected by the state.

HB 119, sponsored by the House Rules Committee, comes after a task force was convened by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to study and recommend a different tax structure, at the request of growers. The Alaska Marijuana Control Board also was in favor, by a vote of 4-to-1, of creating a different tax structure. The original version of the bill proposed a 3% tax, but that was worked up to 7% throughout the legislative journey.

“While a reduced tax structure will, in the short term, lower the state’s revenue stream, it will also help prevent the decline of the industry which would ultimately drive tax revenue downward. This change in tax structure will not only stabilize the industry while providing areas for Alaskan businesses to grow, but it will also allow the state to capture revenue from value-ad products which will increase the tax base,” the Rules Committee said in a statement at the time of introduction.

HB 119 has been sent to the Senate, where it has been referred to Senate Finance Committee only, but has not been scheduled for a hearing. The last day of session is May 15 and if the bill does not pass, it will die and sponsors will need to reintroduce it next year.

More than 10 hours after it opened debate on a bill that would ban transgender girls from girls sports teams in Alaska, the Alaska House of Representatives remained bogged down on the issue late Saturday.

With the legislative session scheduled to end on Wednesday, the protracted debate forced the postponement of other priority work, including on legislation that addresses crime, a pending energy crunch along the Railbelt, and other education topics.

Republican members of the House, with one exception, are supporting the bill, while a coalition of Democrats, independents and one Republican have vowed to use every possible means to defeat it. 

The result on Saturday was a grinding, trench-warfare-like legislative process that saw supporters of the bill defeat or table opposition amendments, one by one, for hours.  

“We’re doing it on behalf of women and young ladies and girls who would like to participate in female sports,” said Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla.

Supporters of the bill do not believe that transgender women are women, and allowing transgender girls to participate on girls sports teams would mean that “there would be no female sports left to participate in, which would be a disappointment,” he said.

The bill’s opponents vehemently and at times emotionally argued that transgender women are women and deserve to be granted equal treatment under the law.

“Trans girls in sports (are) not a threat to any other girl,” said Rep. Donna Mears, D-Anchorage.

Opposition lawmakers had known for months that the bill was likely to advance to the House floor and prepared dozens of amendments in an attempt to kill the bill by drawing out debate 

On Saturday morning, with the House majority ready to table those amendments without discussion, opposition lawmakers grew angry and refused to vote, bringing proceedings to a halt.

“If you would like to set this precedent of just tabling minority amendments because you do not like them, you will reap what you sow for years to come,” said House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage.

That statement brought raised voices from Republicans in the House who saw it as a personal threat against Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, and told Schrage should “take it outside” with them.  

“You brought this upon us! You are the majority. You said this is your priority. Give us the right to defend the children in our districts who you are hurting because of this,” said Rep. Jennie Armstrong, D-Anchorage, shouting across the House chambers.

“Yeah, well, you’re discriminating against women!” said Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, shouting back.

“I’m a woman, Jamie!” Armstrong responded, even louder. 

A short break brought more interruptions and delay. 

“You’re making a mockery of this,” said Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake. 

“You’re making a mockery with this bill,” Armstrong said. 

“Oh, stop,” McCabe said. 

“It’s not a bill. It’s an attack on children in our state!” Armstrong responded.

Armstrong, who identifies as bisexual, and Democratic Rep. Andrew Gray, a gay man from Anchorage, have been among the most passionate opponents of the bill, as has Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage, who has a transgender daughter.

“One of my four daughters won’t come into this building. She’s very uncomfortable here. It breaks my heart,” Galvin said.

After Armstrong’s heated exchanges, Tilton and Schrage negotiated a compromise that allowed the opposition to present some amendments. 

The compromise agreement set a strict time limit for each legislator to speak on an amendment, but even with that restriction, each amendment took 15 minutes or more, and there were dozens.

The bill’s supporters, to save time, declined to speak on each proposal. This left the floor open to the bill’s opponents, who said the bill implicates the state’s constitutional right to privacy. It would require girls to prove that their gender at birth — as shown on a birth certificate and medical tests — matches their gender identity.

“When you’re asking women to give up their constitutional rights to play sports … it’s a shame this is where we think we should be on Day 117 of the Legislature,” said Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau.

Opposition lawmakers repeatedly offered procedural exit ramps to members of the majority, saying they were willing to move on from the issue, if the majority was willing. 

But majority Republicans voted down requests to table and indefinitely postpone the bill, keeping the debate going. 

As debate extended into the night, lawmakers recognized an important fact: Even after amendments wrap up, a final vote on the bill itself won’t take place until the next legislative day, promising further delays. 

“There’s so much hate out there. Why would we move forward with a bill that will just enable more hatred and discrimination? It’s insane,” Schrage said.