New “distinctions in roles and responsibilities” come as state lawmakers attempt to overhaul agency
It is wildly ironic that the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission finally approved and released its long-awaited new governance charter this month. The document, which was painstakingly written “to better define distinctions in roles and responsibilities [at the agency] alongside the rapid growth of the cannabis industry,” was delivered in the midst of legislative action that could scramble the nature and makeup of the CCC to the point of unrecognizability, rendering the charter which took years to complete largely useless.
That’s not entirely a knock on the commission. Members didn’t plan for the unfortunate timing. They started the “process of drafting a new governance charter in 2022,” and in the time since edited accordingly, in part in response to several criticisms leveled at the agency over the past two years in particular—many of them from state officials and lawmakers who are behind the proposed sweeping changes.
While their internal reforms apparently haven’t impressed representatives, commissioners nevertheless pulled the updated charter over the finish line in May. According to the CCC, the “process included a review of how other agencies, including the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, defined governance.” The resulting document “clearly delineates the duties of Commissioners, the Executive Director, and staff following several years of focused deliberations.”
Topics covered in the charter include: “Interactions Between and Among Commissioners, Executive Director, and Staff”; “External Affairs”; and “Accountability, Checks and Balances.”
“Our goal with this charter was to solidify and refine agency procedures to build upon the work of the individuals who were instrumental in getting the agency off the ground,” Executive Director Travis Ahern said in a statement. “Coming into the commission, I prioritized finishing the charter to ensure we can move forward effectively and efficiently in our mission to oversee a safe, equitable cannabis industry in Massachusetts.”
“I’m confident that this charter will help the commission enter a new era with a renewed focus on our work,” acting CCC Chair Bruce Stebbins added. I appreciate the collaboration with my colleagues and the focus of the Executive Director to offer his input on the final document. … We are excited to move forward with a new, clear set of guidelines to guide the work of commissioners, the executive director, and staff.”
Finally, for anybody keeping tabs on the aforementioned legislation (you can read our breakdown of the omnibus bill here), it’s worth noting that one of the major issues CCC addressed by the CCC in its new charter—the separation of powers between appointed commissioners and the hired executive director—was not apparently considered in the same light by the authors of the bill.
As Susan Podziba, a public policy mediator who worked on deliberations that spurred the new charter, wrote in a letter to the Boston Globe over the weekend, “I can attest that this change will continue the central problem of the original legislation and result in ongoing conflict regarding the commission’s administrative functions.”
She continued: “As Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro has argued, the current statute provides no clear guidance on who is responsible for leading the agency, especially because it assigns similar powers to both the commission’s chair and its executive director.”
