February 16, 2018 was the deadline to introduce new legislation in California. There was a plethora of new bills on a variety of topics and nearly 100 that are specific to cannabis. We have selected a few that we feel stood out, click the links to view the bills in full.

  • SB 930 – This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would establish a state-chartered bank that would allow a person licensed to engage in commercial cannabis activity under MAUCRSA to engage in banking activities in California.

  • SB 1302 – This bill would prohibit a local jurisdiction from preventing delivery of cannabis or cannabis products on public roads, or to an address that is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of that local jurisdiction, by a licensee who is acting in compliance with MAUCRSA and who is acting in compliance with any license, permit, or other authorization obtained from another local jurisdiction. The bill would include findings that this bill addresses a matter of statewide concern, rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.   This will be interesting to see how this plays out since certain cities, like Los Angeles, have enacted laws that only permit local licensees to deliver within city boundaries.

  • SB 1409 –  This bill would eliminate the requirement that industrial hemp seed cultivars be certified on or before January 1, 2013 in order to be included on the list of approved hemp seed cultivars.  Under the bill, “industrial hemp” would no longer be defined in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act as a fiber or oilseed crop. The bill would delete the requirement that industrial hemp be grown as a fiber or oilseed crop, or both. The bill would also delete the requirement that an application for registration include information about whether a seed cultivar is being grown for its grain or fiber, or as a dual-purpose crop.

  • SCA 9 – This measure would authorize the Legislature to exclude from classification as “newly constructed” the construction or addition, completed on or after January 1, 2019, of a rain water capture system.  This proposal is drawn to address the fact that the California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, “full cash value” is defined as the assessor’s valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under “full cash value” or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred.  This item will be on the June ballot.

  • AB 2641 – This bill would specifically authorize the Bureau of Cannabis Control to issue the state temporary event licenses and would authorize a state temporary event license to be issued for an event to be held at any other venue expressly approved by the local jurisdiction the event, as described. The bill would specifically prohibit the bureau from issuing a state temporary cannabis event license for a particular event unless the local jurisdiction in which the event will be held has approved the event. The bill would authorize the bureau to issue a temporary cannabis retailer license to a licensed cannabis manufacturer or a licensed cannabis cultivator for the retail sale and delivery of cannabis or cannabis products to customers at a licensed temporary cannabis event and would make the license valid only for the duration of the particular temporary cannabis event for which the license was issued.

  • AB 2810 –  This bill would create the Sun-Grown Cannabis Commission in the state government with a prescribed membership, and would specify the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Sun-Grown Cannabis Commission board of directors. The commission board of directors would be authorized to, among other things, conduct research for specified purposes, assess and address the impact of local and state regulations on the cannabis products industries, and collect and disseminate market price information to prevent unfair trade practices. The bill would authorize the commission to levy a civil penalty, as specified, on a person for rendering or furnishing false reports, secreting, destroying, or altering records, failing to furnish a report, or failing or refusing to furnish to the commission information concerning the names and addresses of persons to whom sun-grown cannabis was delivered or from whom sun-grown cannabis was received. The bill would authorize the commission to bring certain civil actions to enforce the bill’s provisions

  • AB 2899 –  MAUCRSA currently requires all cannabis advertisements and marketing to accurately and legibly identify the licensee responsible for that content by adding, at a minimum, the licensee’s license number and prohibits a technology platform from displaying the advertisement on an Internet Web page unless the advertisement displays that licensee’s license number. This bill would require all cannabis related advertisements to reflect the licensee’s State of California Commercial Cannabis Activity license number.

 

  • AB 2914 – This bill would prohibit a commercial cannabis licensee from also being licensed as a retailer of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products. The bill would prohibit a licensee from selling a cannabis product that is an alcoholic beverage, including, but not limited to, an infusion of cannabis into an alcoholic beverage. This bill would prohibit an alcoholic beverage licensee from selling, offering, or providing cannabis or cannabis products, including an alcoholic beverage that contains cannabis or cannabis products, and would require the department to take disciplinary action against a licensee who does so, including, but not limited to, suspension or revocation of the license.

  • AB 2980 – This bill amends the definition of Premises under MAUCRSA to mean, “the contiguous area wherein the license privileges are, or will be, exercised, as diagrammed in the application for licensure and for which a separate license is required. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit two or more licensed premises from sharing common use areas, such as a bathroom, break room, locker room, or hallway, wherein no license privileges will be exercised so long as all licensees comply with the requirements of this division.”  It also adds the provision that two or more licensed premises may share common use areas such as a bathroom, break room, locker room, or hallway, wherein no license privileges will be exercised so long as all licensees comply with the requirements of this division.