03/30/2023
February 23, 2023 General Law Committee HB 6699
Public Hearing Testimony of
Danté Bartolomeo
Commissioner
Department of Labor
General Law Committee
February 23, 2023
Good morning, Representative D’Agostino, Senator Maroney, Representative Rutigliano, Senator Cicarella, Representative Brown, Senator Fonfara and members of the General Law Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with written testimony regarding HB 6699: AN ACT CONCERNING CANNABIS REGULATION. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor.
The Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) understands that the intent of Section 13 of HB 6699 is to transfer certain duties concerning labor peace agreements to CTDOL. More specifically, Section 13 of the bill requires CTDOL to “…identify, and develop a list of, labor unions that are actively seeking to represent cannabis workers in the state…” and goes on to list several specific factors that would define a labor union for selection to that list.
Due to current federal law, CTDOL is not in a position to perform the work that would be required under this bill. CTDOL is approximately 80% federally funded. Inasmuch as cannabis is illegal under federal law, we are unable to participate in any program that touches on the cannabis industry. We have had several discussions with USDOL on this issue. USDOL has stated that “federal grant funds cannot be used to support any activity or initiative that involves cannabis production or the cannabis industry”. This prohibition is not limited to staff funding. We have been advised that even the use of federally funded equipment, infrastructure costs, and other assets “to support activity that remains illegal under the Controlled Substances Act”, such as outlined in this bill, is prohibited.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.
Connecticut Department of Labor • www.ct.gov/dol
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer