UPDATE: US House Rep. Nancy Mace Files Federal Cannabis Legalization Bill

This article was updated Nov. 8 to include the legislation text.

A U.S. congresswoman who became the Republican face of a federal cannabis reform effort two years ago is back at it with the Oct. 24 introduction of a new legalization bill.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., filed legislation Tuesday that’s titled, "States Reform Act of 2023," which aims to "amend the Controlled Substances Act regarding marihuana, and for other purposes.”

The text of the legislation was revealed Nov. 8.

StatesReformActof2023_NancyMace by Tony Lange on Scribd

This bill builds off of the States Reform Act that Mace filed in November 2021 along with four Republican co-sponsors last Congress. Specifically, the legislation aims to removed cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and provide for federal regulation in a manner similar to alcohol.

RELATED: GOP Congresswoman Mace Spices Up Federal Cannabis Legalization

Mace’s office did not respond to Cannabis Business Times’ request for comment.

Notably, one key difference is that the new cannabis legislation has bipartisan support upon its original filing. This support includes the following co-sponsors: Reps. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.; Dean Phillips, D-Minn.; David Trone, D-Md.; and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

The States Reform Act intends to establish a federal permitting process for cannabis businesses, provide for federal oversight of interstate medical cannabis products, and create a 3% federal cannabis excise tax structure with a 10-year moratorium on increases to ensure “competitive footing” in the market.

The proposal represented a much lower excise tax rate than other federal reform efforts sponsored by Democrats. Specifically, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) from last Congress proposed levying a 25% federal cannabis sales tax on any products produced in or imported into the U.S. by the fifth year of removing cannabis as a controlled substance.

Mace proposed that the tax revenue raised under federal legalization should go toward funding law enforcement, small businesses and veterans’ mental health initiatives.

“This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform,” Mace said in November 2021. “Furthermore, a supermajority of Americans supports an end to cannabis prohibition, which is why only three states in the country have no cannabis reform at all.”

In addition to a lower tax rate, Mace’s bill proposes moving to put the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which operates under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in charge of federal regulation for cannabis products in interstate commerce, and for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee medical use.

Mace also proposes having the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau serve as the primary law enforcement agency supporting the TTB’s work, exactly as it does in the alcohol space, according to the bill’s text.

Meanwhile, the FDA would have no more of a role with respect to cannabis than it does with alcohol under Mace’s vision. This specifically differed from Schumer’s intentions with the CAOA, which was to have the FDA serve as the cannabis industry’s primary regulatory arm.

While Mace’s States Reform Act never received a committee markup last Congress, things could be different with Republicans now controlling a majority in the House this Congress. 

While the South Carolina congresswoman’s new bill reaches across the aisle, its backing is far from widespread compared to another federal legalization measure in play this Congress.

RELATED: US House Democrats Introduce Bill to Federally Legalize Cannabis

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the top Democrat in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act on Sept. 20 with 33 original co-sponsors. It now has 69 co-sponsors, as of Nov. 8, but the partisan legislation includes solely Democratic backing.

With Republicans controlling a thin 221-212 majority in the U.S. House—and after Republicans were at odds over a speaker during a 22-day stretch in October—bipartisan support for pending legislation has become as meaningful as ever in the lower chamber.

That three-week stretch came after eight Republicans—including Mace—joined Democrats in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a 216-210 vote earlier that month.

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., secured 220 votes Oct. 25 to win his bid to take over as the next House Speaker.

After that vote, Mace issued the following statement:

“Eight of us had the audacity to listen to the American people and vote to vacate the former Speaker. We told the American people they deserved someone who would be honest and represent their interests, not Washington's. There is no denying this was a difficult process, but one that was well worth it. While we fully understand we won’t always see eye-to-eye on everything with Mike Johnson, today the American people can finally be proud of their Speaker.”

One of the items Mace might not see eye-to-eye on with Johnson is cannabis.

While Johnson did not cast a vote when the U.S. House passed the MORE Act almost entirely along party lines in 2022, he did vote against incremental cannabis reform via the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in 2019 and 2021.

As Speaker, Johnson largely controls the reins over what legislation advances to the floor of the chamber.