8/26/22

We have made it to the final week of the legislative session! Bills are moving left and right as the Legislature aims to wrap up its work by August 31st. Many of the bills CCIA has been tracking since the start of the year have successfully made it across the finish line and now await a signature from the Governor, while others will have to be voted on at the beginning of next week. CCIA will provide a comprehensive end-of-session update once the session officially ends, but for now here are some updates on bills that moved this week:

As noted this past Tuesday, CCIA’s strong lobbying efforts and coalition opposition to SB 1097 (Pan) resulted in the bill being placed on the inactive file, indicating that it is dead for this year. CCIA shares the bill’s intent to increase public safety; however, SB 1097 would have done nothing to deter illicit use of cannabis. Instead, it would have imposed new costs and burdens on the regulated industry thereby driving more consumers to the illicit market. 

Sponsors of SB 1097 claim young people are abusing ultra-high THC products despite the fact that those products are currently prohibited in the regulated cannabis market. We share concerns about underage access to cannabis, but it has been demonstrated time and time again that regulated cannabis dispensaries and delivery services adhere to the strict guidelines which prohibit the sale of cannabis to minors. 

CCIA expects that the authors of SB 1097 will reintroduce a similar bill next year and we look forward to sensible dialogue with stakeholders across the industry as well as public health advocates. 

CCIA’s co-sponsored bill, SB 1186 (Wiener), which would prevent local jurisdictions from prohibiting the delivery of medical cannabis, was amended this week to clarify that the bill does not require the establishment of a physical premise in a jurisdiction that already has medical cannabis. The bill is expected to be heard on the Assembly floor early next week and we are hopeful that it will cross the finish line!

SB 1326 (Caballero) was passed by the Assembly and now awaits a signature by the Governor. This bill would specify the Governor’s authority to enter into interstate agreements that would allow cannabis to cross state lines, should the interstate transfer of cannabis become federally legalized.

Other bills that have finished the legislative process and require a signature from the Governor include:

CCIA Supported Bills

• AB 1706 (Bonta): The bill would require the Department of Justice to complete the update of the state summary criminal history information database, and ensure that inaccurate state summary criminal history is not reported, as specified. 
• AB 1954 (Quirk): The bill would prohibit a physician and surgeon from automatically denying treatment or medication to a qualified patient based solely on a positive drug screen for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or report of medical cannabis. 
• AB 2568 (Cooley): The bill would provide 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. 
• SB 988 (Hueso): The bill would remove stringent requirements that health care facilities currently abide by in regards to the use of medical cannabis, giving  health care facilities more flexibility in allowing patients to utilize medicinal cannabis without threat of enforcement actions by the State Department of Health. 
• AB 1646 (Chen): This bill would authorize cannabis beverages to be packaged in containers of any material that are clear or any color. 
• AB 2595 (Jones-Sawyer): The bill would stipulate that the use or possession of cannabis is treated in the same manner as a parent’s or guardian’s use or possession of alcohol and legally prescribed medication.