Bills related to medical cannabis in California

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AS OF: 6/4/16

HEARINGS:

AB 567 Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development 6/13/16 at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Floor Session. Location of hearing: Room 3191.

AB 2679 Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development 6/13/16 at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Floor Session. Location of hearing: Room 3191.

AB 26 Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development 6/20/16 at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Floor Session. Location of hearing: Room 3191

AB 2385 Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development 6/20/16 at l:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Floor Session. Location of hearing: Room 3191.

 

AB 26 (Jones-Sawyer)

Requires 3rd Party training for medical Marijuana personnel.

Status: Passed the Assembly. Currently assigned to the Senate Business Professions and Economic Development Committee.  Will be heard on 6/20/16 at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Session in room 3191   

Link to the bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB26

ASA’s Position: Support  

 

AB 567 (Gipson)

This bill would require the State Board of Equalization and the Employment Development Department to administer tax penalty amnesty programs during the period beginning on July 1, 2017, through September 30, 2017.

Status: Now in the Senate Business, Profession and Economic Development Committee. Hearing date is 6/13/16

at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of Senate Session in room 3191. Myriam Bouaziz is the consultant assigned to the bill.

Link to the bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB567

ASA’s Position: Pending

 

AB 821 (Gipson)

Would allow the BOE to waive the 10% penalty for cash payments by dispensaries until 1/1/2022.

Status: In the Senate Appropriations Committee. Expected to be heard towards the end of June. Robert Ingenito is the consultant assigned to the bill.  

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB821

ASA’s Position: Support

 

AB 1575 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Wood)

This is the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) clean-up bill

Status: Has passed the Assembly, now in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting assignment along with 700 other assembly bills.

Link to the amended bill at: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1575

ASA’s Position: Support

 

AB 2243 (Wood)

Taxing bill amended June 2nd to fund “regional marijuana enforcement officers” in addition to funding local law enforcement grants. Urgency clause adopted on June 2nd. Previously Amended May 3rd  to Remove the tax burden from Cultivators and impose the tax on Distributors.

Status: Passed Assembly Now in Senate awaiting committee assignment.

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2243

ASA Position: Oppose

 

AB 2300 (Wood)

Bill stating that the Medical Marijuana Program does not authorize the smoking of medical marijuana where smoking is prohibited by a landlord.

Status: Has passed the Assembly. Is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Not set for hearing as of 6/3. Tobias D. Halvarson is the counsel assigned to the bill .  

Link to amended bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2300

ASA Position: Likely To Oppose

 

AB 2385 (Jones-Sawyer)

Legislation to enable medical marijuana businesses in Los Angeles granted immunity under Measure D to apply to the State who will verify their Measure D status and issued them a state license. Amended 4/5/16 so that if the City of Los Angeles passes an initiative authorizing the issuance of licenses, the state would require local licensing, rather than vetting LA businesses for both local and state licenses. 5/12 amendment reads: “The determination of the licensing authority that an applicant for a state license meets the criteria listed in subparagraph (A) shall be based on a written or electronic notification provided to the licensing authority by the City of Los Angeles that the applicant has met the criteria. If the City of Los Angeles does not provide written or electronic notification to the licensing authority confirming an applicant has met the criteria, the licensing authority shall not issue a state license.

Status:  Passed Assembly Assigned to Senate Business, Professions & Economic Development where it will be heard on 6/20/16 at 1:00 PM or upon adjournment of the Senate Session in Room 3191

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2385

ASA’s Position: No Position

 

AB 2516 (Wood)

Adds a new license type: Type 1C, or “specialty cottage,” for cultivation.

Status:  Passed Assembly. Now in Senate Rules Committee awaiting assignment  

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2516

ASA’s Position: Support  

 

AB 2545 (Bonta) Bill allows the Governor to enter into agreements concerning medical cannabis with federally recognized sovereign Indian tribes. Amended 4/26 to add language which says:  “The bill would require these agreements to include a provision requiring individuals conducting medical cannabis business activity on tribal land to meet the state and local licensure requirements that are required of licensees operating in the jurisdiction of the local government in which the tribal land is located.”

Status: 5/18 placed in Assembly Appropriations Suspense file. Lisa Murawski is appropriations staff member assigned to the bill. As of 6/3 still in suspense.

Link to bill:  

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2545

ASA’s Position: Pending

 

AB 2614 (Bonta)

Amends MMRSA so that someone with a conviction outside of the state of California where the sentencing did not include a period of incarceration, could obtain a state license, but only if a local government with knowledge of that prior conviction issues a permit, license, or other authorization permitting the applicant to engage in commercial cannabis activity.

Status: Assigned to Assembly Committee on Business and Professions 3/10/16. Those interested in the bill should circle back to Bonta’s office as the bill does not appear to be moving. LA Times is reporting that Bonta is abandoning the bill.

Consultants assigned to the bill: Gaby Nepomuceno & Le Ondra Clark Harvey

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2614

Link to committee: http://abp.assembly.ca.gov/

ASA’s Position: Support

 

AB 2679 (Cooley)

Beginning on March 1, 2023, requires an annual report from licensing entities.

New language added 3/18 would “require the report to also include the number of appeals from the denial of state licenses or other disciplinary actions taken by the licensing authority, the average time spent on these appeals, and the number of complaints submitted by citizens or representatives of cities or counties regarding licensees, as specified.”

The new language would also allow the UC Marijuana Research Program to ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.

Status: Has passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate Committee on Business, Professions & Economic Development where it will be heard 6/13 at l:00 PM in Room 3191.  Sarah Huchel is the consultant assigned to the bill.

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2679

ASA’s Position: Pending

 

AB 2740 (Low/ Lackey)

This bill would make it an offense for a person who has 5 ng/ml or more of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.

Status: Went into appropriations 5/4 and was placed in suspense. Has not made it out of appropriations. Pedro Reyes is the staff member assigned to the bill.

Link to bill:  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB2740

ASA’s Position: Opposed

 

SB 987 (McGuire)

Imposes a 15% excise tax on marijuana which will be imposed on the purchaser at the retail level.  Amended 3/15 to specify taxes collected would go to the general fund and for funding local level grants for enforcement/regulation as well as drug and alcohol treatment. Other monies would go to the Department of Parks and Recreation

Status: Amended 5/31 to transform proposed tax into a “user fee” Passed Senate now in the Assembly awaiting committee assignment.  

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB987

ASA Position: Oppose

 

SB 1116 (McGuire)

This bill would eliminate the specification that the imposition of tax applies only to a licensee, specifically with the intention that a county may impose a tax on the privilege of cultivating, dispensing, producing, processing, preparing, storing, providing, donating, selling, or distributing medical cannabis or medical cannabis products. Appears to open the door to allowing counties to create additional tax categories (ad valorem tax, excise tax).

Status: Assigned to Senate Governance and Finance Committee. Myriam Bouaziz is the consultant assigned to the bill. As of 6/3 bill has not been set for hearing.

Link to bill: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1116

ASA Position: Oppose

 

SB 1462 (Huff, Gatto, Lackey)

This bill would authorize an officer to use a preliminary oral fluid screening test that indicates the presence or concentration of a drug or controlled substance as a further investigatory tool in order to establish reasonable cause to believe the person was driving a vehicle in violation of certain prohibitions against driving under the influence of drugs.

Status: Amended 4/21/16. Passed Committee and is now in Appropriations where it was placed in suspense and still remains as of 6/3/16. Jolie Onodera is the consultant assigned to the bill.

Link to the bill:

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1462

ASA Position: Oppose

 

To read the bills, go to: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billSearchClient.xhtml

Type in the bill number in the search engine (i.e. AB 1575) and the bill will come up.

 

*Indicates the bill is new to this report.