AB 1111 Cannabis: small producer event sales license

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 1111 (Pellerin D) Cannabis: small producer event sales license.

(Update: AB 1111 passed but was vetoed by the Governor on September 29, 2024.)

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. 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 and requires the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions. Under MAUCRSA, the Department of Cannabis Control has sole authority to license and regulate commercial cannabis activity, which MAUCRSA defines to include, among other activities, the sale of cannabis and cannabis products.

MAUCRSA authorizes the issuance of a state temporary event license to a licensee authorizing onsite cannabis sales to, and consumption by, persons 21 years of age or older at certain venues expressly approved by a local jurisdiction, as specified. MAUCRSA requires a licensee who submits an application for a state temporary event license to provide to the department a list of all licensees that will be providing onsite sales of cannabis or cannabis products at the event.

This bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2026, to issue small producer event sales licenses that authorize the licenseholder to sell cannabis or cannabis products, containing cannabis cultivated by that licensee, at state temporary events licensed under the act, and would require the department to charge each small producer event sales licensee a licensing fee, as specified. The bill would authorize a licensee who holds a valid annual state cultivation license and a valid license, permit, or other authorization for cannabis cultivation issued by a local jurisdiction, and who meets specified other requirements, to apply for a small producer event sales license. The bill would require a small producer event sales licensee to comply with all requirements imposed on licensees selling cannabis or cannabis products at a state temporary event, unless otherwise specified. The bill would prohibit the retail sales of cannabis and cannabis products made by a small producer event sales licensee at state temporary events from exceeding $175,000 in gross revenue per year, and would authorize the department, beginning July 1, 2027, to increase this cap by regulation after reevaluating the cap, as provided. The bill would provide that a cannabis event organizer licensee who submits an application for a state temporary event is required to provide to the department a list of all small producer event sales licensees providing onsite sales of cannabis or cannabis products at the event. The bill would authorize the department to take disciplinary action against a small producer event sales license, or any other licenses held by a small producer cannabis event sales licensee, for any violation of the requirements applicable to state temporary events. The bill would authorize a small producer event sales licensee, upon completion or cessation of the temporary event, to reconcile unsold inventory of cannabis or cannabis products and return it to a licensed distributor, as specified. The bill would require retail sales of cannabis or cannabis products by a small producer event sales licensee at a state temporary event to be subject to the cannabis excise tax, as specified.

AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions with a 2/3 vote of both houses to further its purposes and intent.

This bill would state that the bill furthers the purposes and intent of AUMA.

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

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