The Alabama legislature is busy, an Illinois marijuana legalization bill could get a Senate floor vote today, Louisiana Republicans kill a legalization bill there, and more.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Marijuana Policy

Illinois Legalization Bill Could Get Senate Vote Today. The state Senate will recess for an Executive Committee hearing this afternoon to take up the marijuana legalization bill, Senate Amendment 2 to HB 1438. The Senate will then reconvene this evening to take the bill to a floor vote. The bill has picked up some Republican support by altering expungement language from automatic to giving the governor the ability to pardon "with permission to expunge."

Louisiana Legalization Bills Killed. Two marijuana legalization bills, HB 509 and HB 564, were killed Wednesday in the House Criminal Justice Committee on a party line vote with Democrats voting for and Republicans against. "The committee voted as we expected," Kevin Caldwell, founder and president of Commonsense NOLA, which supported the bill, said after the vote. "It is way too much to ask a Republican lawmaker to dare question the Sheriffs and District Attorneys, who financially benefit from prohibition, our state's current policy. Even though the recent LSU poll shows a majority of citizens approve of adult use of cannabis, we have not reached a point where elected officials can challenge the power of the criminal injustice industry in Louisiana."

North Dakota Lawmakers to Study Legalization. The legislature's Legislative Management Committee, which oversees lawmakers' work between sessions, agreed Tuesday to study the implications of legalizing marijuana, ahead of another expected initiative campaign. Voters in North Dakota rejected recreational marijuana last year, but two proposed ballot measures are being proposed for next year.

Medical Marijuana

Alabama Medical Marijuana Patients Push for Bill Approval. With the House set to vote on a medical marijuana bill today, medical marijuana patients rallied at the state capitol to urge its passage. The bill, SB 236, allows for medical marijuana use for specified conditions if other treatments are not working. At least two physicians must sign off on the recommendation, and patients must submit to random drug testing. Republicans were threatening Tuesday to change the bill to create a commission to study the issue for the next session.

Asset Forfeiture

Alabama Senate Votes to Require Civil Asset Forfeiture Tracking. The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday for a bill making it mandatory for law enforcement to report how often they use civil actions to seize a person's property when the person hasn't been convicted of a crime. The bill now goes to the House.