February 24, 2022

To:                   Members, California Cannabis Industry Association

From:               Amy Jenkins, Legislative Advocate

RE:                  Legislative Update: More the 30 cannabis-related bills introduced in 2022

February 18 was the last day to introduce bills for the 2022 California Legislative Session. A total of 611 bills were introduced between the two houses on the final day of introductions for a total of 2,020 bills introduced for this 2022 Session.

To date, 37 cannabis-related bills have been identified, which are summarized below. This list will likely be updated as bills are amended and referred to legislative policy committees.

CCIA’s Board of Directors will be adopting positions on all these bills with significant input from CCIA’s six policy committees as well as general membership meetings.  

If you have questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (707) 291-3270 or amy@precisionadvocacy.co.

Tax Reduction/Reform

1. AB 2506 (Quirk/Lackey): Cannabis: excise tax: cultivation tax. This bill suspends the imposition of the cultivation tax for five years, beginning July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2028, and discontinues the requirement that the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) adjust the cultivation tax rate for inflation for the 2023 calendar year and during the suspension. Upon suspension of the cultivation tax, the bill increases from July 1, 2023, until July 1, 2028, the excise tax by an additional percentage that the Department of Finance (DOF) estimates will generate the amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax.

CCIA Position: Pending 

2. AB 2792 (B. Rubio): Cannabis: excise tax: cultivation tax. This bill, for three years, beginning July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025, inclusive, prohibits the CDTFA from including any mark-up amount in the average market price in an arm’s length transaction for purposes of the cannabis excise tax, and reduces the rate of the cannabis excise tax imposed on purchasers in a non-arm’s length transaction to 8%.

Beginning July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025, inclusive, this bill suspends the imposition of the excise tax upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products sold in this state by licensees eligible for a fee waiver or deferral pursuant to the program established by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) under the California Cannabis Equity Act.

The bill further suspends the imposition of the cultivation tax for three years from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025, inclusive, and discontinues the requirement that the CDTFA adjust the cultivation tax rate for inflation during the suspension.

Lastly, the bill requires a licensed distributor to collect the cannabis excise tax from the cannabis retailer on or before 90 days after the cannabis or cannabis product was sold or transferred by the cannabis retailer to the purchaser and requires the distributor to remit the cannabis excise taxes and cultivation taxes to the CDTFA quarterly on or before the last day of the month following the quarterly period in which the distributor collected the tax.

CCIA Position: Pending 

3. SB 1074 (McGuire): Cannabis: excise tax: cultivation tax. This bill discontinues, beginning on July 1, 2022, the imposition of the cultivation tax. The bill further increases, beginning July 1, 2025, until July 1, 2026, the excise tax by an additional percentage that the DOF estimates will generate half the amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax, and, beginning July 1, 2026, instead increases the excise tax by an additional percentage estimated by DOF to generate the full amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax.

CCIA Position: Pending 

4. SB 1281 (Bradford): Cannabis: taxes. Effective January 1, 2023, this bill discontinues the imposition of the cultivation tax and reduces the excise tax to 5%. It removes the mark-up from the definition of average market price in an arm’s length transaction. It further removes the requirement that the distributor collect the excise tax from the cannabis retailer and shifts collection to point of sale, requiring the retailer to remit the excise tax to the CDTFA.

CCIA Position: Support

5. SB 1293 (Bradford): Cannabis: taxation. While currently a spot bill, this bill state’s the intent of the Legislature to establish a personal income or corporate tax credit for equity licensees that is equal, or in some proportion to the normal business expenses that they would otherwise have been able to write off on their federal taxes, but not for existing federal law.

 CCIA Position: Support

6. SB 1336 (Wiener): Cannabis excise tax. While currently a spot bill, this bill is believed to be sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and intended to be amended to provide a tax credit to licensees that have entered into a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union.

  CCIA Position: Pending 

Retail Access

1. SB 1186 (Wiener): Cannabis: local jurisdictions: Medicinal Patients’ Right of Access. Sponsored by CCIA, this bill is intended to enact the Medicinal Patients’ Right of Access Act. While the bill is currently in spot form, it will be amended to establish a new chapter in the Medicinal and Adult Use Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). Specifically, the bill, as proposed to be amended, does the following:
   1. Includes finding and declarations that access to medicinal cannabis and medicinal cannabis products is an integral aspect of access to health care, and that eliminating barriers to such medicinal cannabis access is essential to promoting and preserving the health of Californians for whom physicians have recommended the use of cannabis or cannabis products; and states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that Californians have timely and convenient access to safe, effective, and affordable medicinal cannabis and cannabis products.
   2. Prohibits a local jurisdiction from adopting or enforcing any regulation that prohibits access to medicinal cannabis products for sale to medical cannabis patients.
   3. Requires all local jurisdictions to adopt ordinances authorizing medicinal cannabis and medicinal cannabis products.
   4. Specifies three ways in which local jurisdiction can achieve compliance, as follows:
      1. Delivery only: If a local jurisdiction wants to comply with this bill by only allowing delivery sales—no storefront retail—the local jurisdiction is free to do that.
      2. Delivery from outside only (no physical premises within the local jurisdiction—subject to one condition): If a local jurisdiction wants to comply by only allowing deliveries from premises outside the local jurisdiction, they can do that but cannot subject those delivery operators to any kind of discretionary local approval/review.
      3. Storefront only: If a local jurisdiction wants to allow storefront retail only and doesn’t want to allow deliveries at all (perhaps for tax reasons, or perhaps because the local jurisdiction feels like it can maintain better regulatory control over storefront retail), the local jurisdiction is free to make that choice, too. A local jurisdiction that allows storefront retail doesn’t need to allow delivery
   5. Provides that nothing in the proposed language supersedes or limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to impose reasonable regulations on the operation of businesses offering medicinal cannabis or medicinal cannabis products for sale, but such regulations shall not unreasonably restrict the number of businesses, hours of operation, frequency of sales and the types or qualities of cannabis products that can be sold.

SB 1186 is currently in spot bill form. However, it is anticipated that the bill will be amended soon to incorporate the new language.

 CCIA Position: Support

2. AB 2824 (M. Bonta): Cannabis: curbside pickup. Jointly sponsored by The Parent Company and Perfect Union, this bill permanently authorizes cannabis sales by licensed retailers via curbside pickup, provided that the area is clearly designated, and monitored and recorded by the licensee’s video surveillance system.

Comments: At a February 16 press conference, Governor Newsom announced that he would be lifting previously issued emergency orders enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since his announcement, we have learned that a handful of cannabis retailers have been notified that curbside pick-up reauthorizations are no longer being extended. CCIA subsequently reached out to the DCC and was notified that additional guidance on curbside is forthcoming.

 CCIA Position: Support

CEQA/Streamlining Licensure Process

SB 1148 (Laird): Cannabis industry. While currently a spot bill, in communications with the author’s office, we believe the intent is to advance statutory changes aimed at streamlining the licensing process and possibly enacting broader CEQA normalization for the industry.

CCIA Position: Pending 

Hemp Integration

AB 1656 (Aguiar-Curry): Cannabis: industrial hemp. This bill is a follow-up to AB 45 (Aguiar-Curry, Ch. 576, 2021) which includes a provision requiring the DCC to prepare a report to the governor and the Legislature outlining the steps necessary for the incorporation of hemp products into the cannabis supply chain by July 1, 2022. While currently a spot bill, this bill will be amended to provide the statutory framework necessary to implement the provisions as outlined in the report.

CCIA Position: Support

Interstate Agreements

SB 1326 (Caballero): Cannabis: interstate agreements. This bill authorizes the governor to enter into an agreement with another state or states authorizing medicinal or adult-use commercial cannabis activity, or both, between entities licensed under the laws of the other state or states and entities operating with a state license pursuant to MAUCRSA, provided that the commercial cannabis activities are lawful and subject to licensure under the laws of the other state or states. The bill prohibits an entity with a commercial cannabis license issued under the laws of another state from engaging in commercial cannabis activity within the boundaries of this state without a state license, or within a local jurisdiction without a license, permit, or other authorization issued by the local jurisdiction. The bill would require the agreement to require that the other state or states impose requirements on its licensees regarding cannabis and cannabis products to be sold or otherwise distributed within this state that meet or exceed the requirements applicable to MAUCRSA licensees, as specified. The bill requires the agreement to include provisions to address public health and welfare emergencies concerning cannabis or cannabis products that are sold or intended for sale within this state and provisions related to the investigation of licensees and of instances of alleged noncompliance with the commercial cannabis regulatory programs, as specified. The bill requires the agreement to include provisions for collection of applicable taxes. The bill specifies that the agreement does not constitute a project for purposes of CEQA.

CCIA Position: Pending

Labeling and Advertising

1. SB 1097 (Pan): Cannabis and cannabis products: labeling and advertising. Makes substantive changes to existing labeling, disclosure, and advertising requirements. Specifically, this bill:
   1. Makes 13 findings and declarations outlining the increased use and associated the health risks to consumers of cannabis.
   2. After January 1, 2025, and in addition to the currently prescribed warnings, requires cannabis and cannabis products, excluding topical products, to include a warning label that covers at least one-third of the front or principal face of a product, is in 12-point type, is bright yellow, and includes a pictorial or graphic element, as specified, and one of a series of warnings.
   3. Requires the licensee to use a mandated rotating warnings approach where batches of products are equally divided between the prescribed messages.
   4. Requires the DCC, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health (DPH) and the University of California San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, to either recertify the warnings or provide updated warning label language and designs every 5 years commencing January 1, 2030.
   5. Requires the DCC, on or before January 1, 2024, in consultation with DPH, to create a single-page flat or folded brochure that includes steps for safer use of cannabis and the set of health warnings required for the labels, as prescribed.
   6. Requires, on and after March 1, 2024, a retailer or microbusiness selling, or person delivering, cannabis or cannabis products to a consumer to provide the consumer with the brochure.
   7. Requires, until the brochure is developed, a retailer or microbusiness selling, or person delivering, cannabis or cannabis products to a consumer to provide the consumer with a flier including the health warnings, as specified. Requires the DCC, commencing January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, to either recertify the information in the brochure or provide updated language, as specified.
   8. On and after January 1, 2024, requires print advertisements and written internet advertisement displays that promote cannabis, cannabis products, or cannabis brands to include the pictorial or graphic element and the rotating warnings in a manner similar to what is required on the labels, to cover at least 15% of the face of the advertisement. Further requires the rotating warnings for radio, television, and video advertisement, whether in traditional media or online, that promote cannabis, cannabis products, and cannabis brands, as defined.

CCIA Position: Oppose unless amended

2. SB 1390 (Pan): Businesses: internet privacy: minors. This is a spot bill that makes non-substantive changes to state statutes involving online marketing and advertising to minors.

Comments: While this bill does not directly relate to cannabis at this time, it was flagged as a “high watch.”

Delivery

1. AB 1014 (McCarty): Cannabis: delivery. Sponsored by Eaze, this bill permits delivery vehicles to carry up to $10,000 worth of cannabis goods, provided that $5,000 has already been fulfilled prior to the delivery employee departing from a licensed premises. It also incorporates additional requirements for the licensed retailer, as a condition of pursuing the higher case limit, which were negotiated with labor. Additional requirements include, but are not limited to the following:
   1. All required hardware, tools, and supplies (e.g., dedicated GPS monitoring device, secure case, dash cameras, if required, etc.).
   2. Reimbursement to drivers of legally required costs to conduct business if drivers are using a personal vehicle;
   3. Insurance requirements that cover not less than $1 million per incident for employees that utilize their own vehicles; and
   4. Healthcare benefits for full-time delivery employees.
   5. AB 1014 also specifies vehicle requirements when the licensed retailer provides vehicles to its delivery employees.

Status: This bill narrowly passed the Assembly and is now pending referral in the Senate.

CCIA Position: Support

2. AB 2224 (McCarty): Cannabis: delivery. A spot bill, this bill currently makes non-substantive changes to provisions in the MAUCRSA related to delivery.
   
   CCIA Position: Pending

Single Use Vape and Tobacco Filter Ban 

AB 1690 (L. Rivas): Tobacco products: single-use components. Sponsored by the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC), this bill prohibits the sale of cigarette and cigar filters and single-use vaping devices. Violations of this bill’s provisions will result in the imposition of civil penalties of $500 per violation.

Comments: In speaking with the author’s office and the sponsor, the intent is to prohibit all non-rechargeable vape pens, which data suggest makes up a substantial portion of the overall cannabis vaping market. We have also been told that it is not the author’s intent to capture cannabis pre rolls and that they are seeking input from the cannabis industry on an implementation timeline.

CCIA Position: Oppose 

Enforcement

1. AB 1725 (Smith): Illegal cultivation of cannabis. This bill makes it a felony, punishable by 16 months or 2 or 3 years in county jail, for a person over 18 years of age to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 6 living cannabis plants.
   CCIA Position: Oppose unless amended
   
   
2. AB 2102 (Jones-Sawyer): Cannabis: lawful actions. A spot bill, this bill currently makes non substantive changes to provisions in the MAUCRSA relating to lawful actions.

   CCIA Position: Pending
   

3. AB 2387 (E. Garcia/Mullin): Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022. This bill upon approval by the Legislation, would place a general obligation bond on the June 7, 2022, statement ballot. If approved by the voters, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022, authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7.4 billion pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs. Among its provisions, the Act includes $50 million for projects that support the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, including projects for the cleanup, remediation, and restoration of environmental damage in watersheds affected by illegal cannabis cultivation and related activities.
   

   CCIA Position: Support

4. AB 2421 (B. Rubio): Water: unpermitted cannabis cultivation. Sponsored by the County of Los Angeles, this bill expands local enforcement authority to prosecute and enjoin water theft and water pollution to combat water theft and illegal cannabis grows. Under existing law, city attorneys, district attorneys, and the State Attorney General may seek injunctive relief and civil penalties against cannabis growers who pollute State waters, but unincorporated areas may not. This bill extends this authority to county counsels by amending the existing Water Code to provide authority to city attorneys and county counsels to civilly prosecute and enjoin water theft and amend the Fish and Game Code to authorize county counsels to civilly prosecute and enjoin water pollution.

According to the sponsor, Los Angeles County’s rural areas in the Antelope Valley are particularly impacted by large-scale illicit cannabis cultivation, which creates issues with water theft, hazardous waste, and associated criminal activities. The County further argues that the number of problems related to illegal cannabis cultivation, including water theft, trespass, use of dangerous pesticides and fertilizers, and trash and debris, has greatly increased.

   CCIA Position: Support

5. AB 2451 (Wood): State Water Resources Control Board: drought planning. This bill requires that State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to establish a Drought Section within the Division of Water Rights, and, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, adopt principles guidelines no later than March 31, 2023,  that address diversion and use of water in coastal watersheds during times of water shortage for drought preparedness and climate resiliency and for the development of watershed-level contingency plans to support public trust uses, public health and safety, and the human right to water in times of water shortage. The bill further authorizes the SWRCB to issue a cease-and-desist orders when water diversions are out of compliance and provides that persons found to be out of compliance shall be subject to penalties not to exceed $500 for each day that the violation occurs.

CCIA Position: Pending

6. AB 2595 (Jones-Sawyer): Juveniles: dependency: jurisdiction of the juvenile court. This bill excludes the use of cannabis, possession of cannabis, possession of cannabis products, possession of cannabis accessories, or possession, cultivation, harvesting, drying, or processing of cannabis by a child’s parent or guardian or the presence of cannabinoid components or metabolites in the parent’s or guardian’s bodily fluids as circumstances necessitating a minor from being under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
 
CCIA Position: Pending

7. AB 2728 (Smith): Unlawful cannabis activity: penalties. Sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, this bill imposes additional civil penalties, as specified, beyond what is currently authorized under MAUCRSA, for unlicensed cannabis activities, as follows:

• Operations with more than 6 plants, but fewer than 200 plants, a fine not exceeding $1,000 for a first violation and $3,000 for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.
• Operations with more than 200 plants, a fine not exceeding $3,000 for the first violation, $6,000 for the second violation within one year of the first violation, and $10,000 for each subsequent violation within one of the first violation.
• Cannabis products, a fine not exceeding $50, per package.
• Cannabis concentrations, a fine not exceeding $50 per gram.
• Cannabis biomass, a fine not exceeding $50 per pound.
• Cannabis flower, a fine not exceeding $250 per pound.

Under existing law, a person engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license is subject to a civil penalty of up to 3 times the amount of the license fee for each violation. Under existing law, each day of operation without a license is a separate violation.

CCIA Position: Pending

8. SB 1426 (Caballero): Cannabis: water pollution crimes. Sponsored by the County of San Bernardino, this bill makes it a felony to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 6 living cannabis plants, or any part thereof, and where that activity involves theft of groundwater, unauthorized tapping into a water conveyance or storage infrastructure, digging an unpermitted, illegal well, or the pollution of groundwater, as specified. The bill also clarifies that causing substantial environmental harm to public resources includes groundwater.

CCIA Position: Pending

Temporary Events

1. AB 2691 (Wood): Cannabis: temporary cultivator event retail license. Sponsored by the Origin’s Council, this bill requires the DCC to issue temporary cultivator event retail licenses that authorize the license holder to sell cannabis or cannabis products, containing cannabis cultivated by that licensee, at cannabis events in the state. The bill limits the issuance of this license to licensees that cultivate less than one acre of cannabis and requires a temporary cultivator event retail licensee to comply with all requirements imposed on cannabis retailers, unless otherwise specified. Lastly, the bill specifies that a temporary cultivator event retail license is valid only for the specific cannabis event for which it was issued and would limit the number of temporary cultivator event retail licenses issued to each licensee to 12 per calendar year.
   
   Comments: This bill is similar to AB 2641 (Wood, 2018), which was sponsored by the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA). After considerable opposition, the bill narrowly passed the Assembly, but was ultimately held under submission by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
   
   CCIA Position: Pending
   
   
   
2. AB 2210 (Quirk): Cannabis: state temporary event licenses: venues licensed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control: unsold inventory. This bill authorizes the DCC to issue a state temporary event license to a retail licensee under MAUCRSA authorizing onsite cannabis retail sales of cannabis or cannabis products to, and consumption by, persons 21 years of age or older at an event held at a venue that is licensed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control pursuant to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act if the activities comply with specified requirements, including that the local jurisdiction authorized the event and onsite sales and consumption of cannabis or cannabis products may only occur in a separate and distinct area from alcohol sales and consumption. The bill further allows the DCC to require the event and all participants to cease operations without delay if, in the opinion of the DCC or local law enforcement, it is necessary to protect the immediate public health and safety of the people of the state and to impose a civil penalty for violations, in an amount up to 3 times the amount of the license fee for each violation. The bill further allows licensees who are issued any state temporary event license by the DCC to, upon completion or cessation of the temporary event, reconcile unsold inventory of cannabis or cannabis products and return it to the licensee’s retail premises.
   
   CCIA Position: Support

Cannabis Catering

AB 2844 (Kalra): Cannabis catering. Sponsored by UCBA, this bill establishes a cannabis caterer license, authorizing the licensee to serve cannabis or cannabis products at a private event approved by a local jurisdiction for the purpose of allowing event attendees to consume the cannabis or cannabis products. Under the bill, consumption of alcohol or tobacco is authorized on the premises of that event. The bill further authorizes a caterer licensee to reuse cannabis at a subsequent event, as provided.

CCIA Position: Pending

Insurance

AB 2568 (Cooley): Cannabis: insurance providers. This bill provides that it is not a crime solely for individuals and firms to provide insurance and related services to persons licensed to engage in commercial cannabis activity.

Comments: While staff is still compiling background, preliminary conversations with the author’s office suggests that the author's intent is to amend statute in a manner that forces the FAIR Plan to reverse its standing policy which discriminates against cannabis businesses on the basis that cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Background: California’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan Property Insurance is known as the insurance of last resort. Established in 1968, the FAIR Plan is a syndicated fire insurance pool composed of all insurers licensed to conduct property/casualty business in California and provides insurance to California property owners who are unable to find traditional insurance. In communications with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in October, we learned that the FAIR Plan has been refusing to write any policies for cannabis businesses since 2011.

CCIA Position: Support

Cannabis Beverages

1. AB 1646 (Chen): Cannabis packaging: beverages. A spot bill, sponsored by the Cannabis Beverage Association, this bill authorizes cannabis beverages to be packaged in clear containers.
   
   CCIA Position: Pending

2. AB 2155 (Villapudua): Cannabis beverages. This is a spot bill intended to enact changes to MAUCRSA governing cannabis beverages. Under existing law, cannabis beverages must be packaged in glass containers that are clear or any color. It is assumed the bill is sponsored by the Cannabis Beverage Association.
   
   CCIA Position: Pending

Cannabis Pet Products

AB 1885 (Kalra): Cannabis and cannabis products: animals: veterinary medicine. Sponsored by the Pet Cannabis Coalition, this bill prohibits the Veterinary Medical Board from disciplining a veterinarian for recommending cannabis for animals for potential therapeutic effect or health supplementation purposes and requires the Board to adopt guidelines for veterinarians to follow when recommending cannabis by January 1, 2024. This bill also redefines “cannabis products,” “cannabis concentrate,” and “edible cannabis products'' under MAUCRSA to include products for animals, excluding livestock. The bill further provides that if the cannabis product is intended for therapeutic effect or health supplementation use on, or for consumption by, an animal, the cannabis product shall also conform with any additional relevant standards, including, but not limited to, an alternative standardized concentration, established by the DCC through regulations. This bill is a follow up to AB 2215 (Kalra, Ch. 819, 2018), which allowed veterinarians to discuss cannabis with patients without disciplinary action from the Board.

CCIA Position: Support

Consumer/Patient Access

1. AB 1954 (Quirk): Physicians and surgeons: treatment and medication of patients using cannabis. This bill prohibits a physician and surgeon from denying treatment or medication to a qualified patient, based solely on a positive drug screen for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or report of medical cannabis use, except to the extent that the qualified patient’s use of medical cannabis has been found by a physician and surgeon, following a case-by-case evaluation of the patient, to be medically significant to the treatment or medication. The bill provides that use of medical cannabis that has been recommended by a licensed physician and surgeon shall not constitute the use of an illicit substance in such an evaluation. The bill prohibits a physician and surgeon from being punished, or denied any right or privilege, for having administered treatment or medication to a qualified patient within the bill’s requirements.
   
   CCIA Position: Pending

2. SB 988 (Hueso): Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law. This bill repeals the existing requirement under Ryan’s Law, established in SB 311 (Hueso, Ch. 384, 2021), that health care facilities permitting patient use of medicinal cannabis comply with other drug and medication requirements, applicable to Schedule II, III and IV drugs, and the requirement that those facilities be subject to enforcement actions by the State Department of Public Health.

• CCIA Position: Pending

Record Expungement

AB 1706 (M. Bonta): Cannabis crimes: resentencing. Sponsored by the Last Prisoner Project, this bill enacts the Automatic Resentencing, Dismissal, and Sealing of Past Cannabis Convictions Act and directs county district attorneys and courts to complete the work of processing past cannabis convictions deemed eligible for resentencing, dismissal, and sealing, and directs the Attorney General to declare those records resentenced, sealed, and dismissed in the absence of local action. This bill is a follow-up to AB 1793 (R. Bonta, Ch. 993, 2018), which allows individuals with prior California cannabis convictions to have those convictions automatically dismissed or redesignated, depending on the type of prior conviction and how the cannabis crime would be categorized, following the passage of Prop. 64.

Specifically, AB 1706 provides that as of January 1, 2023, a sentence shall be deemed to have been reduced or dismissed if: (a) the case has been reviewed and the prosecution has not challenged the resentencing, dismissal, or sealing or (b) the case is eligible for relief but has not been reviewed. The bill further provides that on or before January 1, 2023, the court shall update its records in accordance with the above described and shall report cases where the sentence has been reduced to the Department of Justice for adjustment of the criminal history information database. The bill further directs the DOJ to report those adjustments to appropriate third parties within the same timeframe. For cases that have been reviewed and challenged, the court shall hear the case on or before July 1, 2023.

CCIA Position: Support

Employment Discrimination

AB 2188 (Quirk): Discrimination in employment: use of cannabis. Sponsored by CalNORML, this bill amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace or, with prescribed exceptions, upon an employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have non psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their urine, hair, or bodily fluids.

CCIA Position: Support

Cannabis Research

AB 2150 (Lackey/Cooley): Cannabis research. Upon acceptance by the Regents of the University of California, this bill appropriates $2 million from the State and Local Government Law Enforcement Account in the California Cannabis Tax Fund for the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (Center) to establish a study examining the effects of cannabis products that are currently in the commercial cannabis stream of commerce and, in consultation with the California Highway Patrol, evaluating the public safety consequences of cannabis use and improving understanding of the best methods for determining related driving impairments. This bill further requires the Center to report the findings of the study on or before January 1, 2027.

CCIA Position: Pending

Cannabis Control Appeals Panel

AB 2925 (Cooper): Cannabis Control Appeals Panel: membership. This bill increases the number of members on the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel from 5 to 7, as follows: 2 members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and 3 members appointed by the Governor, as specified. MAUCRSA established the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel to review specified decisions of licensing authorities appealed by any person aggrieved by those decisions.

CCIA Position: Pending