On October 12, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the following cannabis-related bills were signed into law:
- AB 37
- Allows cannabis businesses to claim state tax deductions and credits available to other legal businesses in the state for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and before January 1, 2025.
- AB 404
- Authorizes a laboratory testing cannabis or cannabis products to amend a certificate of analysis to correct minor errors. The bill also authorizes the testing laboratory to retest a sample if a test result falls outside the specifications authorized by law or regulation.
- AB 420
- Expands cannabis-focused research under the California Cannabis Research Program, including the study of naturally occurring constituents of cannabis and synthetic compounds and studies to examine the effects of cannabis, cannabinoids, and related constituents.
- AB 858
- Modifies Type 1C cannabis cultivation licenses to include the option to meet an alternative maximum threshold to be determined by the licensing authority of up to 25 mature plants for outdoor cultivation or 500 square feet or less of total canopy size.
- AB 1291
- Expands labor peace agreement requirements for an applicant of any type of license under the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act.
- AB 1529
- Requires any cannabis cartridge or integrated cannabis vaporizer to bear an established universal symbol and requires that the symbol be engraved, affixed with a sticker, or printed in black or white.
- SB 34
- Permits businesses to provide free medical cannabis to low-income patients and exempts such products from state taxes.
- SB 153
- Revises current state provisions regulating the cultivation and testing of hemp to conform with the 2018 Farm Bill, including new enforcement penalties for negligent and grossly negligent conduct and new conditions on eligibility to participate in the hemp program. The bill also requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, to develop and submit a state plan to the United States Secretary of Agriculture on or before May 1, 2020.
- SB 185
- Prohibits licensed cultivators from marketing their product using an appellation of origin if the product is not actually sourced from the designated geographical area.
- SB 595
- Requires the Bureau of Cannabis Control, on or before January 1, 2021, to develop and implement a program to provide a deferral or waiver for an application fee, a licensing fee, or a renewal fee for a needs-based applicant or needs-based licensee.
Source: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-california-cannabis-related-bills-30943/
