Rhode Island Resets Cannabis Retail Licensing in June 2026
Rhode Island’s adult-use retail rollout hit a turning point this month. Governor Dan McKee signed legislation into law that repeals the cannabis residency requirement, voids the prior licensing rounds, and orders the Cannabis Control Commission to restart the process, while the bill retains the existing cap of 24 retail stores. Both chambers passed companion measures House Bill 8544 and Senate Bill 3313 before the session closed, and the Senate confirmed Michelle Reddish to lead the Cannabis Control Commission. About 97 retail applications had remained frozen since an April federal court ruling, and the new law now lays out the path to restarting the process.
Top headlines this month
- 📋 H8544 signed into law: voids prior rounds, retains the 24-license cap
- 🏛️ Senate confirms Michelle Reddish as Cannabis Control Commission chair
- ⚖️ McKee signs legislation eliminating the cannabis residency requirement
📋 RHODE ISLAND: H8544 NULLIFIES PRIOR LICENSING ROUNDS AND KEEPS RETAIL CAP AT 24
House Bill 8544, introduced by Rep. Scott Slater on May 13, 2026, sets out the statutory mechanics behind Rhode Island’s cannabis retail reset and was signed into law on June 10, 2026, taking effect upon passage. The law declares null and void all prior social equity certification and retail license application processes run by the Cannabis Control Commission, and requires the commission to begin a new social equity certification process and a new retail license application process within 60 days of the effective date. Application fees paid under the prior retail license application process must be refunded. The bill keeps in place the state’s existing authorization of 24 total retail licenses, distributed across geographic zones with no more than four licenses per zone. Within each zone, one license is reserved for a workers’ cooperative applicant and one for a social equity applicant. The $30,000 annual retail license fee flows into the social equity fund. The law also continues the existing moratorium on new cannabis cultivator licenses until two years after the commission issues its final rules and regulations. Because the law allows the new application process to proceed under existing non-conflicting regulations without waiting for new rulemaking, the commission has a statutory path to moving quickly now that the legislation has taken effect.
Source:
https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8544.pdf
🏛️ RHODE ISLAND: SENATE CONFIRMS MICHELLE REDDISH AS CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION CHAIR
The Rhode Island Senate unanimously confirmed Michelle Reddish as chair of the Cannabis Control Commission on the final day of the legislative session. Reddish has led the state’s Cannabis Office since 2024 and now moves from operational duties into the commission’s only full-time role, which carries a $204,069 salary. The seat had been vacant since October, when former chair Kim Ahern resigned to run for attorney general. The Senate also reappointed Robert Jacquard, a former state representative for Cranston, to a second term on the commission. Both Reddish and Jacquard will serve until May 17, 2031. Reddish’s confirmation fills the leadership gap at the agency responsible for overseeing Rhode Island’s medical and recreational marijuana and hemp industries. Her years running the Cannabis Office give her direct familiarity with the regulatory framework the commission will apply going forward.
⚖️ RHODE ISLAND: McKEE SIGNS LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE CANNABIS RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
The Rhode Island General Assembly passed, and Governor McKee signed, legislation eliminating the state’s requirement that recreational cannabis retail license holders be majority owned by Rhode Island residents. Companion bills sponsored by Rep. Scott Slater and Sen. Jacob Bissaillon cleared both chambers. Bissaillon’s bill (S3313) was approved 63-0 by the House on June 8, 2026, after initial passage in the Senate on June 4. Slater’s companion measure (H8544) first cleared the House on June 4, was placed on the Senate calendar the following day, and passed the Senate in concurrence on June 9. The legislation responds to three federal lawsuits challenging the residency requirement as a violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause. A ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose on April 8 halted the commission’s retail license review process and left roughly 97 applications in limbo, with many applicants continuing to pay rent on storefronts they may not even be able to open. Under the new law, the Cannabis Control Commission has 60 days to initiate a new application process, and prior applicants will be refunded their $7,500 application fees. The legislation also redefines social equity license eligibility, replacing a geographic standard tied to free lunch program participation data from the Rhode Island Board of Education with an individual standard requiring proof that an applicant or a family member was disproportionately impacted by criminal enforcement of past prohibitions. The ACLU of Rhode Island, which had warned earlier drafts only partially resolved the legal challenge, now supports the revised legislation. With the applications frozen since April, enactment clears the way to restart Rhode Island’s stalled adult-use retail buildout. The state has appealed the injunction, but the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had not yet taken up the case as of the June 8 House vote, with a hearing to establish a briefing schedule reported for June 23.
The Bottom Line
June 2026 reshaped Rhode Island’s cannabis retail framework. The residency repeal and the retail reset passed both chambers and were signed into law, H8544 retains the 24-license cap with zone-based set-asides, and new leadership was confirmed at the Cannabis Control Commission. The pieces are now in place for the commission to restart the stalled application process under the new statute.
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