I know.

All right, I will call to order the Judiciary Committee meeting for October 8th, 2025, 7 p.m.

Uh, roll call is uh present is Michelle Shea, Commissioner Hattie Thatcher, Commissioner Callahan, Commissioner Minkins, Commissioner Healy, and absent is Commissioner Anderson.

Uh communication, uh first item, communication number 2025-310.

Matt Enruth, Butte Silverbow County Attorney requesting Council of Commissioners authorization for the county attorney's office to draft a new ordinance regulating the sale and distribution of medical and recreational marijuana in Butte Suburbow County.

Um I believe that County Attorney Andrett has a status update for us.

Yes.

Yes, Commissioners.

Uh what I've presented to you tonight is an actual draft of what the ordinance is going to look like with regards to what it's going to contain, how it looks, you know, in accordance with how we draft ordinances here in Silverville County.

There are a couple of things that I specifically highlighted in it.

Um the pages aren't numbered, I apologize, but it would be page three under zoning, location, and distance restrictions.

That was one of the biggest things that everybody looked at.

Uh the distance restriction in here is currently set at 500 feet, uh, basically in a uh radius rather than with the current state law, which is has to be on the same street and also from one door to the next.

Um we added some additional language in there too that the entrances do not have to be located on the same street and may include other outbuildings.

Specifically when we look at Butte High School, it has the welding shop.

You know, we would consider that an outbuilding.

One thing I did highlight is the signage and advertising.

Uh what I've gotten a lot of phone calls on is when people drive by, they see the marijuana leaves, they see those things.

That used to be heavily regulated by state law.

It's gotten a lot looser.

We can tighten that up if we want to.

Um and I do think we can make that actually applicable to the ones that are here.

Um when we look at the number of dispensaries um that would be allowed in Butte Silverbow County, currently on set page two at the bottom down there.

It shall not exceed 10.

Uh the current uh number that's affected or the current number of dispensaries in the city.

That's left blank because I didn't have a definitive answer on that yet.

It sounds like one actually might have just recently closed down or moved.

Uh but they would be grandfathered in under this ordinance.

However, um if you go to the next page, if they relocate to a new address, change ownership, expand beyond the footprint of their current licensed premises.

Um, then the dispensary shall be treated as a new applicant, can only operate if there is an open slot.

Um there is some additional language that we're looking at adding to this specific section, um, which would be uh corporate restructuring and things like that.

Sean and I uh were discussing that.

We did not know if that would you know hold mustard in front of the Supreme Court, you know, if they have to if they internally restructure, you know, that's a problem.

But the change in ownership semi covers that whole branch as well.

So if they restructure internally, if a president changes, you know, the some of these companies are structured as S-corps.

So if they get a new president just because someone retires or something like that, I don't think we'll be able to yank the license because the ownership is remaining the same under the S-corp.

However, if they change ownership, the S-corp changes or anything like that, then we they would be restricted.

They would have to fall under the uh below the 10 limit if we have one open.

We also have in there specifically that no person or business shall hold hold more than one dispensary license uh any time within Butte Silverbow County.

We are going to update that as well to also include any cultivation um facilities.

Um if you look through it, it's got a lot of the standard language with that's in the state law, must be 21, secured places, you know, can't have it in vehicles, it's prohibited.

Uh inspections, records, and compliance.

This ordinance would also give us the ability to go in and inspect, audit, and conduct our own investigations.

Any refusal to allow us to do so would constitute grounds for a license suspension or revocation.

The other thing I would like the uh commissioners to contemplate is uh penalties for this.

So technically, this is a civil ordinance.

Um I don't have in here, you know, we have in here the suspension or revocation of a license, you know, assessments of any costs uh as a lien or special charge against the property, but penalties may include fines.

What I'd like the commissioners to think about is if you would like to see just a flat rate fine that occurs on a daily basis while the violation is continuing, or a step up if it starts at you know a hundred, then 250 or 500, something along those lines.

Um that was just one of the thoughts that Sean and I had, but it is as you can see, a violation constitutes you know, each new day constitutes a new violation if they're not in compliance with the ordinance.

Um we had it a lot bigger, we stripped it down to make it simpler, cleaner, and clearer.

Uh, this is gonna be the base of that ordinance, so I would like you guys to take a look at this.

Please hold it in abeyance for another two weeks and then come back with any notes that you guys have, or email them to me, and I can put them in a new red-lined version uh for the public to see and us to see until we get to a final consensus on what this is gonna be and get it out of judiciary and through the ordinance process.

Thank you, County Attorney Ann Ruth.

Um, I had I just have a quick question.

Did you apply some type of a formula like a ratio of population to dispensaries or something?

How did we arrive at the number 10?

And how would that potentially change if there were more people in Butte or population changed, census data, something like that?

Yes.

So we looked at uh the same thing they do for liquor licenses, and then also the city of uh Ronan enacted an ordinance where it was basically one license per 10,000 people.

Um Ronan's small, so they only have one license, they're only at 10,000 people.

We thought one license per 10,000 people, well, that puts it at four in this town.

So then we looked at the amount of bars and casinos that Butte has per its population and kind of just came to a number in that middle.

Uh I mean, for lack, you know, there's the way we came to that 10 was it it sounded like a good solid number.

It was easy.

It is based on population in a sense, and was looked at in a manner the same way that they look at liquor licenses.

We could contemplate if the commissioners wanted to, if butte ever expanded, allowing you know, increasing that number or or specifically stating it based on population size.

So if butte shrinks, we can go lower too.

If the commission would like to entertain that, I have no problem with it.

Okay, thank you very much for that information.

I think that would be uh worth exploring having a formula and having it adjust automatically through the ordinance.

Is that possible?

It is possible, um, because I mean we could look at our census data and things like that every so many years, and for instance, if we put it at one license per every 10,000 people, just hypothetically speaking, if Butte expanded to a population beyond what it is now, it could add the licenses, or if Butte continued to shrink, um, which hopefully we don't, it could go lower.

Yeah, which is why when we looked at Butte and we looked at our geographical location and kind of how Butte can theoretically expand right now, we're pretty limited.

Um, we're in a mount range, and so that's why we set it as a hard number.

The other thing we can do is we could put in a clause that would allow the commission itself to readdress the ordinance every so many years based off of a new census or something like that, too.

Okay, yep.

Thanks.

Those are all good ideas, food for thought for everybody.

Um appreciate that.

Um, any commissioners have any questions?

Commissioner Callahan.

Thank you, madam chair.

I guess my question is you know, we visited this, I don't know, six, seven years ago, and when medical marijuana became legal, and it just kind of bloomed out of control.

So we had invited the attorney general in to kind of give us some advice on what we could do to make some rules.

And unfortunate we found out once he got here, it wasn't under the jurisdiction of the attorney general's office because it was medical marijuana.

So obviously he couldn't help us out, so then we invited the uh Miss Hogan, which was the head of the health department, and so she came and kind of explained how the health department handles all these things because it was medical marijuana.

And so she came and kind of explained how the health department handles all these things because it was medical marijuana.

And when the all the questions and everything were answered, she basically said we don't have the staff to enforce anything.

But since it's been become excuse me, uh legally uh it doesn't have to be Madame Marijuana.

Is this back under the jurisdiction of the the attorney general's office?

Or is it still has the state changed the rules on this deal or county attorney and ruth?

Madam Chair, Commissioner Callahan.

Uh no, the Department of Public Health and Human Services still uh operates this particular department.

They are their own department, so it's basically right.

It's uh they have sectioned them out.

So you have your guys that do alcohol tobacco, and then you have specifically the guys that do just marijuana.

Yeah, they have their own their own sort of administrative rules and department under the Department of Public Health and Human Services in the state.

So if you're talking about who has the ability to to enforce those laws, you know, local counties do, and then the attorney general's office uh also has the authority if we request them to do so, but specifically in the new statutes they passed, uh it allows counties to draft their own ordinances with regards to uh how they want to see uh medical and recreational marijuana regulated it within their county borders thank you, county attorney and thank you.

Follow up so basically things really haven't changed a whole lot, but the attorney general's office still has some authority county attorney and Ruth the the uh Madam Chair Commissioner Callan, the attorney general's office has authority in the sense of they can enforce the law if we asked them to.

So for instance, if two shops you know are on the same street and they're in violation of the state law, you know, we would call them and yes, they would the licensing department would enforce it.

But what the law also allows us to do is have our own regulatory ordinance in place so we can just enforce it locally, we don't have to use them.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Any other commissioners?

Any questions?

Okay, so I would um I agree with commission or with uh county attorney and I'd like to hold this in abeyance in the judiciary committee um and attach this draft to the agenda um and wait for additional recommendations, red lines, conversations.

So I would entertain a motion.

We'll make a motion to hold uh this communication in advance.

Community there's a motion and a second to hold communication 2025-310 in abeyance.

Anything on the question?

All those in favor?

Aye, opposed motion passes.

Uh next item on the agenda are the claims.

These are the claims.

Uh there's two one to John Panich for 400, a bond refund for 1354 Evans Avenue, and the second one for CNW Investments LLC for $8,922 and 58 cents for a refund on a redemption of a tax assignment parcel.

Um I would entertain a motion to approve the claims.

Make a motion to make a motion to approve the claims as presented.

There's a motion and a second to approve the claims.

Uh anything on the question?

All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed?

Motion passes.

Okay, that is the end of the agenda.

I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

Motion to adjourn.