By Shelby Huffaker, MPH | Chair, San Diego Americans for Safe Access
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a wide range of cannabis-related bills during the 2024 California legislative session. These measures address various issues, including compassionate cannabis donation programs, cultivation taxes, cannabis cafes, environmental remediation requirements, and more. Read on to see which ones passed – and which ones failed.
BILLS THAT PASSED
Authorizes local jurisdictions to allow for the preparation or sale of non-cannabis food or beverage products at licensed consumption lounges and the sale of tickets for live musical or other performances on the premises of licensed consumption lounges.
AB 2223: Cannabis: industrial hemp.
Allows licensees to manufacture, process, distribute, or sell products that contain industrial hemp or cannabinoids, extracts, or derivatives from industrial hemp if the product is registered with the State Department of Public Health (including products manufactured outside of California), includes less than 1 milligram of THC (0.25 milligrams per serving), and does not contain hemp-derived THC or comparable cannabinoids. Hemp food and beverage products could not be labeled, marketed, or advertised as having an intoxicating effect.
NOTE: While this bill failed, on September 6, 2024, Governor Newsom announced emergency regulations prohibiting the sale of hemp products with any detectable level of THC. The regulations took effect on September 23, 2024.
AB 2555: Sales and use tax: exemption: medicinal cannabis: donations.*
Extends provisions exempting donated medical cannabis products from taxation for an additional 5 years.
AB 2643: Cannabis cultivation: environmental remediation.
Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to conduct a study — funded by the Cannabis Restoration Grant Program — to develop a framework for cannabis site restoration by 2027 and submit annual reports on the environmental impacts of illicit cannabis cultivation on California public lands. Civil penalties for noncompliant production of a controlled substance are amended to apply specifically to noncompliant production of cannabis or cannabis products, even if they are removed from the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Funding for remediation and restoration of public and private lands impacted by cannabis cultivation will be appropriated from a Cannabis-Impacted Lands Restoration Fund.
SB 1059 Cannabis: local taxation: gross receipts.*
Prohibits cities and counties from including, in their definition of taxable gross receipts for cannabis products, the cannabis excise tax (the “tax-on-tax”).
SB 1064 Cannabis: operator and separate premises license types: excessive concentration of licenses.
Consolidates commercial cannabis license categories, including retail sale, manufacturing, and distiribution licenses, into a single operator license category.
SB 1109 Cannabis: demographic information of persons with financial interests in license applicants.
Requires the Department of Cannabis Control to collect, consolidate, and publish aggregated demographic information about every person with a financial interest in a cannabis license applicant. Applicants are not required to provide this information and applicant identities will be kept confidential.
SB 1498 Cannabis: advertising: private right of action.
Allows the Attorney General, a city attorney, or a county counsel to take civil action against licensed and unlicensed entities that do not comply with cannabis advertising and marketing restrictions. In addition, industrial hemp manufacturers, distributors, or sellers will be subject to the same marketing and advertising restrictions imposed upon cannabis products.
Restricts the use of cannabis edibles to only patients with terminal illnesses in acute healthcare facilities (currently any patient over the age of 65 can legally use cannabis edibles in a hospital setting).
*Indicates that the bill has been endorsed by ASA
BILLS THAT FAILED
AB 1111: Cannabis: small producer event sales license.
Would allow the Department of Cannabis Control to grant small producer event sales permits to qualifying applicants for the sale of cannabis and cannabis products to adults aged 21 and over at state temporary events.
AB 2296: Enhancements: concentrated cannabis.
Adds concentrated cannabis to the list of substances that if an individual, if convicted of violating certain laws where a person aged 16 years or younger is affected, subjects them to additional criminal penalties.
AB 2540: Cannabis: license transfers.
Grants the Department of Cannabis Control the ability to transfer, assign, and reassign licenses for commercial cannabis activity.
Would expand penalties for engaging in planting, cultivating, harvesting, drying, or processing greater than 6 cannabis plants by those aged 21 years and over (or for any living cannabis plant by people aged 18-20 years) from of an infraction and a fine to a felony.
AB 2888: Cannabis: invoices: payment.
Would create penalties for licensees that do not pay for cannabis goods or services later than 15 days following the invoice due date.
AB 3054: Cannabis: appointees: prohibited activities.
Specifies that, in addition to other members of the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel, neither the Director nor any Governor-appointed official shall receive a commission or profit from an applicant or licensee.
AB 3170 Public health: maternal substance abuse.
Would amend existing law to exclude positive toxicology tests of infants at the time of birth as sufficient cause for reporting child abuse or neglect.
AB 3248 Cannabis excise tax: rate reduction.
Would lower the cannabis excise tax from 15% to 5% until 2027.
SB 820: Cannabis: enforcement: seizure of property.
Adds language about the need for the department or a jurisdiction to have an inspection warrant in order to seize specified property in the place where commercial cannabis activity is conducted without a license.
SB 1264 Employment discrimination: cannabis use.
Would amend employment protections for off-the-job cannabis use by employees with sworn positions in law enforcement agencies until 2028.
