AB 766 Cannabis: invoices: payment

This bill is part of the 2023 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.

AB 766 (Ting D) Cannabis: invoices: payment.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. MAUCRSA establishes the Department of Cannabis Control within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to administer the act, and requires the department to be under the supervision and control of a director.

Existing law requires every sale or transport of cannabis or cannabis products from one licensee to another licensee to be recorded on a sales invoice or receipt and prescribes the information included on those receipts, including the cost to the purchaser. Existing law provides grounds for disciplinary action under MAUCRSA, including failure to comply with the provisions of MAUCRSA or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to MAUCRSA.

This bill would, except as specified, require a licensee to pay for goods and services sold or transferred with a total value of at least $5,000 by another licensee no later than 15 days following the final date set forth in the invoice or invoices. The bill would require a licensee who sold or transferred goods to another licensee and who has not received payment in full 15 days after the final date set forth in the invoice to report the unpaid invoice to the department, as specified. The bill would require the department to notify a licensee of this report, issue a notice of warning, or, in its discretion, issue a citation or commence a disciplinary action against the licensee if the licensee fails to pay the outstanding invoice in full by 30 days after this notification, as specified, and, for multiple failures to comply with these provisions, commence a disciplinary action, as specified. The bill would prohibit the licensee from purchasing goods and services from another licensee on credit until the licensee pays the outstanding invoice in full. The bill would, for purposes of these provisions, prohibit the final date set forth in an invoice for payment of the invoice from being later than 30 calendar days from the date the goods or services are sold or transferred. The bill would specify that these provisions do not apply to an invoice for a sale or transfer made before January 1, 2024.

Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.

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