The governor of Pennsylvania says he remains "hopeful" that lawmakers can deliver a marijuana legalization bill to his desk by a budget deadline at the end of this month—and he's urging the GOP-controlled Senate to "put their ideas on the table" after the defeat of a House-passed cannabis reform measure in that chamber.
During a press briefing on unrelated transportation issues, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) was asked about the status of talks around cannabis and gaming legalization, both of which he proposed as part of his latest budget request.
Shapiro said the administration has had "some good conversations that have been ongoing, particularly on the skill games side," but he feels that "folks understand the importance of finally regulating and taxing both of those issues—and we're going to continue to work through it over the next few weeks."
"We've had really good, honest dialogue about it," the governor, who recently criticized the Senate for abruptly derailing the House marijuana legalization bill, said.
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