CCIA Timeline

CCIA Supported Legislation Passed in 2020:

• AB 1872 (Committee on Budget): Among other things, this bill ensures stability for the cannabis industry going into 2021 by suspending the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration’s authority to raise cultivation taxes and the excise tax mark-up rate for one year. A budget trailer bill, this legislation is the result of over three months of negotiations between the governor’s office, Assembly and Senate budget committees, and CCIA’s Senior Policy Director Amy Jenkins. The bill overwhelmingly passed the Legislature and received no NO votes in the Assembly.
• AB 1458 (Quirk): This bill raises the label variance threshold for edible products from plus or minus 10% to plus or minus 12% until January 1, 2022, giving edible manufacturers much needed breathing room as production technology catches up to California’s rigorous standards.
• AB 1470 (Quirk): This bill redefines “final form” for purposes of cannabis testing, to clarify that products can be tested without being in their final retail packaging. This will not only allow for batch testing of such products such as flower and edibles, but will reduce the waste footprint of the cannabis industry.
• AB 1525 (Jones-Sawyer): This bill allows cannabis licensees to authorize data sharing between a specific financial institution and licensing agencies, thus making it easier for financial institutions to bank with cannabis businesses in California.
• SB 67 (McGuire): Passed with unanimous support Monday morning, SB 67 by Senator McGuire (D-Healdsburg) ensures that cannabis used to create cannabis products from a recognized “appellation of origin”, as defined by the Department of Food and Agriculture, was planted in the ground, and grown without the use of a structure, and without the use of artificial lighting in the canopy area. Establishing terroir-based standards for California’s Cannabis Appellation Program aligns cannabis appellations with those seen in the wine industry, and preserves the tradition and culture that makes California cannabis unique. SB 67 is the result of extensive work between Senator McGuire and the Origins Council coalition, of which CCIA is a proud member.
• SB 1244 (Bradford): This bill aids local agencies in enforcing against illicit cannabis activities by making clear that cannabis testing laboratories may receive and test samples from any local or state law enforcement agency or regulatory body.

Governor’s Approved 2020/2021 Budget: 

• Resource Laboratory: proposes to fund a cannabis resource laboratory. While details regarding this proposal are limited, CCIA’s Quality Control Committee and a handful of independent operators have long advocated for an in-house lab within the BCC to better coordinate the inspection of licensed testing facilities and develop uniform testing standards.
• Proposal to shift approximately 87 sworn investigators/peace officers from the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Division of Investigations to its Bureau of Cannabis Control, advanced by CCIA.  In a May 2019 letter addressed to legislative budget chairs, CCIA advocated for this shift, arguing that the current structure makes enforcement activities against illicit cannabis businesses “a long and ineffectual process” and that housing enforcement against unlicensed activity in the​ BCC will improve enforcement coordination.

COVID-19 Response:

• In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and shelter in place orders that began on March 16th, CCIA led the lobbying efforts to ensure that cannabis businesses and workers were deemed “essential” and able to continue to provide essential services.  CCIA mobilized rapidly in providing digital vehicles to keep our members educated in real time on the rapidly changing landscape to remain compliant yet adhere to advanced safety protocols and distancing requirements.  The CCIA COVID-19 Resource page was created to address and provide education on best practices, risk management, safety and sanitation guidelines, data, relief programs and all of the relevant information necessary to protect cannabis businesses and workers.

Whitepapers

• https://www.cacannabisindustry.org/whitepapers/
• Diversity, Inclusion and Social Equity Committee Preferred Language Document
• CCIA Risk Management Committee’s Best Practices During COVID-19

• Over 10,000 media hits:  NPR, Politico, LA Times, SF Chronicle, Sac Bee, New York Times, OC Register, Press Democrat, San Diego Union Tribune, AP, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, Chicago Tribune

LCCS (Legal Cannabis for Consumer Safety)

• CCIA and industry partners co-founded the Legal Cannabis for Consumer Safety group in response to the vape crisis known as vapi or evoli.  As panic legislation was passed throughout the country, LCCS worked in partnership with the administration and the regulating bodies to ensure California would lead the nation with good policy based on sound data.  By way of leadership from CCIA and LCCS, we were able to avoid any legislation that would have hindered Californians ability to access safe, tested, legal cannabis.

Whitepapers

• 2019 End of the Year HR Checklist
• Counterfeiting Cannabis:  Not a Victimless Crime
• Counterfeiting:  Disruptions in the Vertical Supply Chain
• Category 1 Pesticide Testing:  Why Failing Based on Limit of Detection Instead of Action Levels is an Inferior Standard
• Variability in Cannabis Testing Data
• Representative Sampling and its Impact on Differences on Research & Development and Compliance Data
• Value of Electronic Certificate of Analysis
• Cannabis Event Organizers:  Dos and Do Nots
• Cannabis Event Vendors:  Dos and Do Nots
• Cannabis Event Venues:  Preparation for Event Proposals and Questions to Ask Event Organizers

CCIA tracked over 60 bills in 2019.  Of those, CCIA adopted positions and actively lobbied on 33 bills and sponsored or co-sponsored 6.  Among other wins, our association:

• Defeated legislation to overturn a state regulation that permits licensed delivery operators to deliver in local jurisdictions with bans
• Secured a trailer bill amendment to extend the state’s provisional license program for an additional 2 years
• Acquired additional funding for social equity programs
• Advanced bills to allow small cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses on their state taxes
• Promoted social compassion programs for low income, medicinal patients
• Modified the existing universal symbol requirements to ensure that consumers and medicinal patients alike can better identify which products have met California’s rigorous testing and quality assurance requirements.

Notable cannabis bills signed into law by Governor Newsom are listed below.

• AB 97 (Committee on Budget).  Among other things, this bill, which took effect on July 1, 2019, extends the provisional license program, enacted in CCIA sponsored legislation last year from January 1, 2019 to January 2, 2022.
• AB 37 (Jones-Sawyer). Sponsored by CCIA, this bill allows cannabis business owners to deduct business-related expenses from their state personal income tax.
• AB 404 (Stone). Sponsored by CCIA, this bill allows cannabis testing laboratories to amend Certificates of Analysis (COAs) for minor errors, as defined by the Bureau of Cannabis Control.
• AB 1529 (Low). Co-sponsored by CCIA, this bill amended the size requirement of the universal symbol on vape cartridges to be “no less than 0.25” x 0.25”. By reducing the size requirement, AB 1529 strengthens the intent of the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) regulations to ensure consumers understand what they are consuming and verify their products are manufactured by licensed cannabis manufacturers that have met California’s strict testing and quality assurance requirements.
• SB 34 (Wiener). Otherwise known as the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act, this CCIA co-sponsored bill revived compassionate care programs in California by allowing cannabis licensees to designate cannabis for donation and permitting retailers to donate this cannabis to low-income medicinal patients tax free.
• SB 223 (Hill). Otherwise known as Jojo’s Act, this bill allows school boards to adopt a policy permitting parents of minors who possess a valid physician’s recommendation for medicinal cannabis to administer smokeless cannabis on school grounds.
• SB 595 (Bradford).  This bill requires the state licensing entities to develop and implement a program to provide fee deferrals and/or waivers for needs-based cannabis applicants and licensees, 60% of which must be local equity applicants and licensees.
• Led a coalition to successfully defeat AB 1530 (Cooley), which would have prohibited licensed cannabis delivery in local jurisdictions with bans or moratoriums on commercial cannabis activity. Note: CCIA provided lead opposition testimony in committee and secured 7 no votes and 6 abstentions.

• Successfully advanced changes to the state’s emergency regulations to improve the operational effectiveness of licensed cannabis businesses.  Successes included the elimination of the A-Type and M-Type licensing requirement and the expansion of licensed delivery to all jurisdictions, preventing “access deserts” to ensure that patients and consumers have access to safe compliant products.

Co-sponsored and successfully advanced four legislative measures to reduce barriers to entry into the compliant cannabis marketplace:

• SB 1459 (Cannella). This bill established a provisional cannabis license to ensure that existing, compliant operators may continue to operate while their state and local applications are being reviewed. Note: The Rural County Representatives of California credited CCIA for elevating this issue, after it was originally brought to the Administration’s attention by rural counties and ignored. The bill was gutted and amended in the final weeks of session and approved with nearly unanimous bipartisan support.
• SB 311 (Pan). This bill allows distributor-to-distributor transfers to ensure that licensed cannabis retailers and consumers have access to quality products.
• AB 2020 (Quirk). This bill expanded the types of locations where temporary cannabis events may occur to any location if approved by the local jurisdiction.
• AB 1741 (Bonta). This bill permits licensed commercial cannabis businesses, until January 1, 2022, to remit their tax payments to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) in cash without being charged the automatic 10 percent penalty levied on most other California businesses.

Helped advance SB 1294 (Bradford) to establish the California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018 to which, upon appropriation by the Legislature, provides grants that focuses on the inclusion and support of individuals in the legal cannabis marketplace who are from communities negatively or disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization. Note: Administration staff and Senator Bradford’s legislative director credits CCIA with getting this bill out of the Assembly where it severely lacked the necessary 2/3rd vote of the Assembly to pass. CCIA “whipped” over 11 Assembly votes in the final week of session to get this bill across the finish line.

• Worked closely with the Brown Administration and legislative leadership to advance critical industry priorities that were ultimately amended into SB 94, the second budget trailer bill on cannabis, to merge the medicinal and adult use frameworks (2017). Priorities included the following:
  • Elimination of the mandatory, independent distribution requirement, as required in the MCRSA.
  • Elimination of the 3-2-1 model and replaced with express authorization to hold multiple licenses, as specified.
  • The establishment of a North Coast Office to collect fees and taxes will ensure safe payment and collection of cash in the Emerald Triangle.
  • Express allowance for delivery services.
  • Authorization for in-house labs to perform third-party testing prior to the mandatory quality assurance step (co-sponsored with CannaCraft).
  • $3 million in funding for DUI impairment training & research.
  • Modifications to the ownership definition to ensure that passive investors were not inadvertently captured under the ownership definition.

• Organized the Cannabis Business Coalition, leveraging key statewide, business associations to help advance critical business-related priorities.  Coalition members included the California Business Properties Association, California Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association, the California Retailers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business – California.

Successfully negotiated amendments to the third budget trailer bill on cannabis - AB 133 - to allow medicinal and adult use cannabis activities on the same premises and establish due process requirements for commercial cannabis companies when delinquent on their tax obligations.

• Co-sponsored AB 2679 (Cooley), which established standards for cannabis concentrate manufacturing and created legal protection for locally permitted manufacturers from state prosecution.
• Worked with the Brown Administration and Legislative Leadership on the first budget trailer bill on cannabis. SB 837, among other things, was enacted to address MMRSA implementation issues identified by the licensing entities and industry. Successes included amendments to allow cultivators and manufacturers to transport their own cannabis and cannabis products prior to the testing mandate. SB 837 also renamed the Medicinal Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) to the Medicinal Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA).

• Played an integral role in negotiations that led to the passage of AB 243 (Wood), AB 266 (Bonta), SB 643 (McGuire), which established the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act or MMRSA.  Successes included amending the labor language and training requirements, advancing changes to child-resistant  packaging and serving size requirement, as well as negotiating the “3-1-4 model”, which permitted some vertical integration.

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Helped draft SB 1262 (Correa), which was the first bill to pass the State Senate with bipartisan support and be endorsed by an unprecedented coalition including local government, law enforcement, the medical community and the cannabis industry.  SB 1262 has been referred to as the “blueprint” for the licensure and regulatory framework in effect today. Note: CCIA was one of two associations representing the industry in 2015.  The other was the California Growers Association which, at the time, primarily represented cannabis cultivators in the Emerald Triangle. (2015)