Cannabis: licensing fees.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (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. MAUCRSA generally divides responsibility for the state licensure and regulation of commercial cannabis activity among the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the State Department of Public Health. MAUCRSA requires those licensing authorities to establish a scale of application, licensing, and renewal fees based upon the cost of enforcing MAUCRSA and upon the size of the business of the licensee or applicant, as specified. Under existing administrative law, the licensing authorities have adopted regulations setting application fees and annual license fees that vary depending on license category as well as the size of the business for certain annual license fees. This bill would remove the requirement that the licensing authorities charge a renewal fee, and would prohibit licensing authorities from setting application and license fees that exceed certain specified amounts that are consistent with regulations adopted as of May 17, 2019. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act with a 23 vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature. This bill would declare that its provisions further specified purposes and intent of AUMA.