A pair of bills to allow the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency to contract with Michigan Indian tribes passed through the House, 102-6.
Currently, Michigan’s Indian tribes, considered sovereign entities, are responsible for regulating the sale of marijuana on tribal land themselves, according to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency Tribal Consultation Policy.
But Rep. Roger Hauck (R-Union Twp) who sponsored HB 5706, said tribes aren’t legally able to transport or sell marijuana to customers off tribal land.
HB 5706 allows the Marijuana Regulatory Agency to contract with Indian tribes for the purpose of operating tribal marijuana businesses if the business is wholly owned by a qualifying tribe or its members and is located on tribal lands.
Hauck said that means tribal dispensaries will be regulated like their non-tribal counterparts, including state tagging and testing. They will also be allowed to operate the same way.
But there is one difference for tribal dispensaries.
The bill removes the 10% state excise tax on marijuana sold, allowing tribes to impose their own tax as long as it’s based on sales price and its equal or greater to the original tax.
Hauck’s bill, along with HB 6060, sponsored by Rep. Yousel Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor), also address the allocation of unexpended balances attributable to marijuana retailers.
Normally, unexpended balances would be allocated to a municipality.
But the bills instead allocate those funds to the tribe where the marijuana retailer is located.
The bills await action in the Senate.