Bill Text: CA AB26 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Medical cannabis.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB26 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB26-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 26	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 25, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 13, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 4, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Bonilla)

                        DECEMBER 1, 2014

   An act to amend Sections 19322 and 19323 of, and to add Section
19326.5 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to medical
cannabis.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 26, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Medical cannabis.
   (1) Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative
measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November
5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use of marijuana
for medical purposes. Existing law, the Medical Marijuana Regulation
and Safety Act (MMRSA), enacted by the Legislature, establishes
within the Department of Consumer Affairs the Bureau of Medical
Marijuana Regulation, and provides for the state licensure and
regulation of certain commercial medical marijuana activities by the
Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Food and
Agriculture, or the State Department of Public Health, as specified.
MMRSA requires an applicant for state licensure to provide specified
information and a statement, signed by the applicant under penalty of
perjury, that the information is complete, true, and accurate. MMRSA
authorizes a state licensing authority to deny an application if
specified conditions are met, and requires a state licensee, among
other things, to obtain applicable local licenses prior to commencing
commercial cannabis activity and to keep accurate records of
commercial cannabis activity.
   This bill would require a state licensee to institute and maintain
a training program for the licensee's agents and employees regarding
compliance with MMRSA, as specified, and would require that an
application for state licensure include a detailed description of the
applicant's program, thereby modifying the crime of perjury and
imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would make the
 bureau the sole state agency   licensing
authority responsible for approving and regulating the programs
and would prohibit the  bureau   licensing
authority  from approving a program provided by or through
certain apprenticeship programs. The bill would require a state
licensing authority to deny the application of an applicant that does
not have, or revoke the license of a state licensee that fails to
institute or maintain, a program approved by the  bureau.
  licensing authority. This bill would require each
state licensing authority to charge each training program a fee, as
specified, to cover the costs for approving the training program.
This bill would require that the fees collected be deposited in the
appropriate account within the Medical Marijuana  
Regulation and Safety Act Fund. This bill would authorize each
licensing authority to adjust fees as needed once a year to cover the
costs of training program approval. 
   (2)  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 19322 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   19322.  (a) A person or entity shall not submit an application for
a state license issued by the department pursuant to this chapter
unless that person or entity has received a license, permit, or
authorization by a local jurisdiction. An applicant for any type of
state license issued pursuant to this chapter shall do all of the
following:
   (1) Electronically submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint
images and related information required by the Department of Justice
for the purpose of obtaining information as to the existence and
content of a record of state or federal convictions and arrests, and
information as to the existence and content of a record of state or
federal convictions and arrests for which the Department of Justice
establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her own
recognizance, pending trial or appeal.
   (A) The Department of Justice shall provide a response to the
licensing authority pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of
Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
   (B) The licensing authority shall request from the Department of
Justice subsequent notification service, as provided pursuant to
Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code, for applicants.
   (C) The Department of Justice shall charge the applicant a fee
sufficient to cover the reasonable cost of processing the requests
described in this paragraph.
   (2) Provide documentation issued by the local jurisdiction in
which the proposed business is operating certifying that the
applicant is or will be in compliance with all local ordinances and
regulations.
   (3) Provide evidence of the legal right to occupy and use the
proposed location. For an applicant seeking a cultivator,
distributor, manufacturing, or dispensary license, provide a
statement from the owner of real property or their agent where the
cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, or dispensing commercial
medical cannabis activities will occur, as proof to demonstrate the
landowner has acknowledged and consented to permit cultivation,
distribution, manufacturing, or dispensary activities to be conducted
on the property by the tenant applicant.
   (4) If the application is for a cultivator or a dispensary,
provide evidence that the proposed location is located beyond at
least a 600-foot radius from a school, as required by Section
11362.768 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (5) Provide a statement, signed by the applicant under penalty of
perjury, that the information provided is complete, true, and
accurate.
   (6) (A) For an applicant with 20 or more employees, provide a
statement that the applicant will enter into, or demonstrate that it
has already entered into, and abide by the terms of a labor peace
agreement.
   (B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "employee" does not
include a supervisor.
   (C) For purposes of this paragraph, "supervisor" means an
individual having authority, in the interest of the licensee, to
hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign,
reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct
them or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such
action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of that
authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires
the use of independent judgment.
   (7) Provide the applicant's seller's permit number issued pursuant
to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code or indicate that the applicant is currently
applying for a seller's permit.
   (8) Provide any other information required by the licensing
authority.
   (9) For an applicant seeking a cultivation license, provide a
statement declaring the applicant is an "agricultural employer," as
defined in the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor
Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of
Division 2 of the Labor Code), to the extent not prohibited by law.
   (10) For an applicant seeking licensure as a testing laboratory,
register with the State Department of Public Health and provide any
information required by the State Department of Public Health.
   (11) Pay all applicable fees required for licensure by the
licensing authority.
   (b) For applicants seeking licensure to cultivate, distribute, or
manufacture medical cannabis, the application shall also include a
detailed description of the applicant's operating procedures for all
of the following, as required by the licensing authority:
   (1) Cultivation.
   (2) Extraction and infusion methods.
   (3) The transportation process.
   (4) Inventory procedures.
   (5) Quality control procedures.
   (c) For all applicants, the application shall also include a
detailed description of the agent and employee training program that
the applicant has instituted, or will institute, pursuant to Section
19326.5. A licensing authority shall not approve an application
unless the applicant's training program is approved by the 
bureau.   licensing authority.  The  bureau
  licensing authority  shall not approve a
training program provided, or proposed to be provided, by or through
an apprenticeship program approved by the Chief of the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards.
  SEC. 2.  Section 19323 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   19323.  (a) The licensing authority shall deny an application if
either the applicant or the premises for which a state license is
applied  do   does  not qualify for
licensure under this chapter.
   (b) The licensing authority may deny the application for licensure
or renewal of a state license if any of the following conditions
apply:
   (1) Failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter or any
rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, 
including   including,  but not limited to, any
requirement imposed to protect natural resources, instream flow, and
water quality pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 19332.
   (2) Conduct that constitutes grounds for denial of licensure
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 480) of Division 1.5.
   (3) A local agency has notified the licensing authority that a
licensee or applicant within its jurisdiction is in violation of
state rules and regulation relating to commercial cannabis
activities, and the licensing authority, through an investigation,
has determined that the violation is grounds for termination or
revocation of the license. The licensing authority shall have the
authority to collect reasonable costs, as determined by the licensing
authority, for investigation from the licensee or applicant.
   (4) The applicant has failed to provide information required by
the licensing authority.
   (5) The applicant or licensee has been convicted of an offense
that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or
duties of the business or profession for which the application is
made, except that if the licensing authority determines that the
applicant or licensee is otherwise suitable to be issued a license
and granting the license would not compromise public safety, the
licensing authority shall conduct a thorough review of the nature of
the crime, conviction, circumstances, and evidence of rehabilitation
of the applicant, and shall evaluate the suitability of the applicant
or licensee to be issued a license based on the evidence found
through the review. In determining which offenses are substantially
related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business
or profession for which the application is made, the licensing
authority shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (A) A felony conviction for the illegal possession for sale, sale,
manufacture, transportation, or cultivation of a controlled
substance.
   (B) A violent felony conviction, as specified in subdivision (c)
of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
   (C) A serious felony conviction, as specified in subdivision (c)
of Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code.
   (D) A felony conviction involving fraud, deceit, or embezzlement.
   (6) The applicant, or any of its officers, directors, or owners,
is a licensed physician making patient recommendations for medical
cannabis pursuant to Section 11362.7 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (7) The applicant or any of its officers, directors, or owners has
been subject to fines or penalties for cultivation or production of
a controlled substance on public or private lands pursuant to Section
12025 or 12025.1 of the Fish and Game Code.
   (8) The applicant, or any of its officers, directors, or owners,
has been sanctioned by a licensing authority or a city, county, or
city and county for unlicensed commercial medical cannabis activities
or has had a license revoked under this chapter in the three years
immediately preceding the date the application is filed with the
licensing authority.
   (9) Failure to obtain and maintain a valid seller's permit
required pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
   (c) The licensing authority shall deny an application unless the
applicant's agent and employee training program is approved by the
 bureau   licensing authority  pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 19322.
  SEC. 3.  Section 19326.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   19326.5.  (a) A licensee shall institute and maintain a training
program to educate, inform, and train the licensee's agents and
employees on compliance with this chapter. The training program shall
be approved by the  bureau   state licensing
authority  and shall include, but is not limited to, training on
applicable substantive legal requirements, industry best practices,
occupational health and safety standards, and individual
organizational or company policies.
   (b) (1)  The bureau   Each   state
licensing authority  shall adopt standards for the approval of
training programs and  shall be the sole state agency
  each state licensing authority shall be 
responsible for approving and regulating  the 
training  programs.   programs relevant to their
licensees. 
   (2)  The bureau   A   state
licensing authority  shall not approve a training program
provided, or proposed to be provided, by or through an apprenticeship
program approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards.
   (c) A state licensing authority shall revoke the license of any
licensee that fails to institute or maintain a training program
approved  by the bureau  pursuant to this section.

   (d) (1) Each state licensing authority shall charge each training
program a fee to cover costs incurred for approving the training
program pursuant to this section. Revenues collected pursuant to this
subdivision shall be deposited in the appropriate fee account within
the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act Fund established
pursuant to Section 19350 of the Business and Professions Code. Total
fees assessed shall not exceed the reasonable regulatory costs for
training program approval. Each licensing authority may adjust fees
as needed, but no more than once per year, to generate sufficient
revenue to cover the costs of training program approval.  
   (2) By July 1, 2018, revenue collected pursuant to this
subdivision shall be projected to fairly and proportionately generate
sufficient revenue to fully cover the costs of training program
approval. 
  SEC. 4.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.