The pandemic took a big bite out of the state budget, and money from the federal government isn’t enough. Wolf says some of the things he wants can't be paid for with CARES Act funding.
That includes improvements to education, helping disadvantaged businesses and restorative justice in communities where people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses.
He thinks there will be some support from Republicans who may see the financial benefits of legalization for adults 21 and over.
“And my hope is, with the pandemic and the hit that we took to revenues, that there might be a little more interest in it right now. And I think we’ve had a little more time to see what’s happened in places like Colorado, with revenues for example, that this might be one way to plug a hole," Wolf said.
Pennsylvania Republicans dismissed his proposals. House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff says, “It is disingenuous for this governor to put forward an unaffordable legislative agenda and require taxpayers to bail him out of his unilateral mandates that have devastated their lives and livelihoods.”