This is the 2024 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 including 2023 Cannabis Bills.
California Cannabis Bills Introduced in the California Legislature in 2024
These are the significant cannabis bills proposed in the California Legislature in 2024. This page provides highlights of select cannabis bills as well as an index of all cannabis bills. Each bill contains a link to a page that provides an explanation of existing law and what that bill would do. Each of those pages contains a link to the official California Legislative Information website page for that bill where readers can get more info on the bill including the actual text, votes, history, bill analysis, status, and more.
February 16 was the last day for bills to be introduced in 2024. August 31 is the last day for any bill to be passed. September 30, 2024 is the last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills.
Highlights of the 2024 California Cannabis Law Legislative Update
These cannabis bills address, among other matters: preparation or sale of noncannabis food or beverage products by a licensed retailer or microbusiness; cannabis licensees and industrial hemp; sentencing enhancements for concentrated cannabis; granting the California Department of Cannabis Control the sole authority to transfer, assign, or reassign state cannabis licenses; extending the tax exemption for medicinal cannabis donations; cannabis cultivation site restoration and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; making unlawful cannabis cultivation a felony; requiring cannabis licensees to pay for goods & services within 15 days of invoice due date; the definition of gross receipts by a city or county; consolidation of licensing under one license type called an operator license; collection of demographic information by the DCC; exemptions from provisions prohibiting employment discrimination for cannabis use; cannabis advertising and marketing restrictions; use of medicinal cannabis by terminally ill patients in a general acute care hospital; and more.
As is usual, some placeholder cannabis bills were introduced that will be amended later with substantive provisions.
Here are more detailed highlights of select cannabis bills.
AB 1775 would authorize a California local jurisdiction to allow for the preparation or sale of noncannabis food or beverage products by a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and to allow, and to sell tickets for, live musical or other performances on the premises of a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed.
AB 1812 and SB 917 (Budget Act of 2024) will be largely guided by the California Governor’s Proposed 2024-25 State Budget. Lawmakers must pass the budget bill by June 15 – that deadline does not apply to budget-related bills.
AB 2223 would state that MAUCRSA does not prohibit a California cannabis licensee from manufacturing, processing, distributing, or selling products that contain industrial hemp or cannabinoids, extracts, or derivatives from industrial hemp. It limits the level of total THC that can be in an industrial hemp final form product. It prohibits the manufacture, distribution, or sale of an industrial hemp product that contains a “synthetically derived cannabinoid” which is defined as a substance that is derived from a chemical reaction that changes the molecular structure of any substance separated or extracted from the plant Cannabis sativa L.
AB 2296 would authorize a sentencing enhancement to be applied for a conviction of certain California crimes if they involve concentrated cannabis and the commission of the crime occurs in a structure where a child under 16 years of age is present or causes a child under 16 years of age to suffer great bodily injury.
AB 2540 would grant to the California Department of Cannabis Control the sole authority to transfer, assign, or reassign state cannabis licenses.
AB 2555 would extend provisions of existing law which exempt from the use tax the storage, use, or other consumption in California of medicinal cannabis or medicinal cannabis products that are donated.
AB 2643 would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to conduct a study to create a framework for cannabis site restoration with the goal of providing guidance for the cleanup, remediation, and restoration of environmental damage caused by cannabis cultivation, and would require the department to submit an annual report to the Legislature on illicit cannabis cultivation on public lands.
AB 2850 would amend AUMA to make it a felony, punishable by 16 months or 2 or 3 years in county jail, for a person over 18 years of age, but under 21 years of age to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process any quantity of living cannabis plants. The bill would additionally make it a felony, punishable by 16 months or 2 or 3 years in county jail, for a person over 21 years of age to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 6 living cannabis plants.
AB 2888 would require a California cannabis licensee to pay for goods and services sold or transferred by another licensee no later than 15 days following the final date set forth in the invoice.
AB 3054 would prohibit individuals appointed by the Governor to specified positions in the California Department of Cannabis Control from engaging in certain activities including receiving any commission or profit whatsoever, directly or indirectly, from any person applying for or receiving any license or permit.
SB 1059 would prohibit a city or county from including in the definition of gross receipts, for purposes of any local tax or fee on a licensed cannabis retailer, the amount of any cannabis excise tax imposed under the Cannabis Tax Law or any sales and use taxes.
SB 1064 would revise the MAUCRSA licensing scheme for commercial cannabis activities other than cultivation and laboratory testing. Specifically, the bill would consolidate the licensing of those activities under one license type called an operator license, and would require an operator licensee to acquire an additional premises license specific to the activity to be conducted on the premises.
SB 1109 would require the California Department of Cannabis Control to collect and consolidate demographic information about every person with a financial interest in a cannabis license applicant and to publish the aggregate demographic data on its website.
SB 1264 would exempt from provisions prohibiting employment discrimination in California for cannabis use off the job and away from the workplace specified applicants and employees in sworn or nonsworn positions within law enforcement agencies, including those who have functions related to civil enforcement matters, animal control, or coroner functions.
SB 1498 would authorize a parent or guardian of a minor child to bring and maintain an action to redress a violation of cannabis advertising and marketing restrictions.
SB 1503 would determine the number of employees of a California cannabis license applicant or licensee by reference to the applicant or licensee’s federal employer identification number, individual tax identification number, or social security number. It would require a valid Certificate of Workers’ Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance. It would apply the independent contractor law established in the Dynamex case to cannabis workers.
SB 1511 would authorize a general acute care hospital to allow a terminally ill patient to use medicinal cannabis.
Index of All California Cannabis Bills
AB 1775 Cannabis: retail preparation, sale, and consumption of noncannabis food and beverage products; AB 1812 Budget Act of 2024; AB 2223 Cannabis: industrial hemp; AB 2296 Enhancements: concentrated cannabis; AB 2540 Cannabis: license transfers; AB 2555 Sales and use tax: exemption: medicinal cannabis: donations; AB 2643 Cannabis cultivation: environmental remediation; AB 2850 Cannabis; AB 2888 Cannabis: invoices: payment; AB 3054 Cannabis: appointees: prohibited activities; AB 3165 Cannabis; SB 917 Budget Act of 2024; SB 1059 Cannabis: local taxation: gross receipts; SB 1064 Cannabis: operator and separate premises license types: excessive concentration of licenses; SB 1109 Cannabis: demographic information of persons with financial interests in license applicants; SB 1264 Employment discrimination: cannabis use; SB 1498 Cannabis: advertising: private right of action; SB 1503 Cannabis: workers and license requirements; SB 1511 Health omnibus.
Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.
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