MORE Act of 2019
Latest action · Jul 23, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 23, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 or the MORE Act of 2019
This bill decriminalizes marijuana.
Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.
The bill also makes other changes, including the following:
- replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis,
- requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,
- establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,
- imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund,
- makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,
- prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,
- prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), and
- establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 23, 2019 to Dec 16, 2020; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Jul 23, 2019 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Jul 23, 2019 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Jul 23, 2019 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Jul 23, 2019 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Sep 26, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Sep 9, 2020 | |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Sep 10, 2020 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Dec 16, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Jul 23, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Jul 23, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 116-576 | KEEP ON TRUCKIN': STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES ON TRUCKING IN AMERICA132 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Feb 4, 2020 |
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN11506 | Criminal Records Expungement and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 Archived | Insight | Sep 18, 2020 |
| IN11503 | Marijuana and Restrictions on Immigration Archived | Insight | Sep 17, 2020 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3540 | Ensuring Safe Capital Access for All Small Businesses Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jul 30, 2019 |
| HR 3543 | Ensuring Access to Counseling and Training for All Small Businesses Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jun 27, 2019 |
| HR 3544 | Homegrown Act of 2019. | Related bill | Jul 30, 2019 |
| HR 3884 | MORE Act of 2020 | Identical bill | Dec 7, 2020 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- MORE Act of 2019
- Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Adult education and literacy
- Business records
- Correctional facilities and imprisonment
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Department of Justice
- Drug trafficking and controlled substances
- Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
- Employment and training programs
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government trust funds
- Immigration status and procedures
- Judicial review and appeals
- Juvenile crime and gang violence
- Lawyers and legal services
- Licensing and registrations
- Minority and disadvantaged businesses
- Retail and wholesale trades
- Sales and excise taxes
- Small business
- Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
- Women in business
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
