The Missouri House Speaker says there are still many questions and concerns about the state’s medical marijuana program.
House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on February 13, 2020, as Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann look on (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)
During a briefing Thursday with Capitol reporters in Jefferson City, House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says he expects the House Special Committee on Government Oversight to hold another hearing next week.
“I think the big thing that we sort of figured out from the (Wednesday) hearing is there’s a lot of questions that remain unanswered,” Haahr says.
Wednesday’s marathon hearing took more than four hours.
The oversight committee has held two hearings on the issue, and has been focusing on how licenses have been approved. An attorney for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) testified this week that they expect about 600 lawsuits over the issue.
“We (state lawmakers) just need to figure out when decisions were made, who was making those and try to make sure that the process was followed to the best of the department’s ability,” says Haahr.
House Special Committee on Government Oversight Chairman Rep. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, tells Missourinet there will be another hearing next week in Jefferson City, likely on Wednesday.
The oversight committee has questions about DHSS’ decision to hire a third-party scoring company whose partners are already active in the industry.
Lawmakers in both parties want to hear testimony from the Office of Administration (OA), which awarded the contract to Wise Health Solutions.
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