During the 2023 legislative session, a range of proposals were considered, with some signed into law and others vetoed. These outcomes reflect the key priorities and decisions that shaped the year.
AB 100
Ting D. Budget Acts of 2021 and 2022.
Status: 5/15/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 3, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: The Budget Act of 2021 and Budget Act of 2022 made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years. This bill amended the Budget Act of 2021 and Budget Act of 2022 and added items of appropriation, in addition to other changes.
AB 102
(Ting D) Budget Act of 2023.
Status: 7/10/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 38, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill amended the Budget Act of 2023 by adding and repealing items of appropriation and making other changes. This bill contained an urgency clause and took effect immediately as a Budget Bill
AB 128
(Committee on Budget) Cannabis: background checks and cannabis event organizer license type.
Status: 7/10/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 46, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill requires the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to submit to the DOJ fingerprint images and other related information on criminal background checks of certain employees, including peace officers, prospective employees, contractors, and subcontractors whose duties would include access to the criminal offender record information systems or records of the DCC or access to cannabis, cannabis products, or controlled substances; requires the DOJ to provide a state or federal level response and subsequent notifications on the above criminal background checks; specifies that these provisions do not apply to any employee hired on or before June 30, 2023, or any contract entered into on or before June 30, 2023; exempts an owner who has previously submitted fingerprint images and related information from resubmitting information for a subsequent application for a state license; prohibits the DCC from considering criminal history information from a previous check of that owner when considering whether to issue a subsequent state license; adds Type 13—Cannabis event organizer to the codified list of license classifications, and appropriates $5,000 from the Cannabis Control Fund to the DCC for purposes of implementing the provisions of the bill.
AB 374
(Haney D) Cannabis: retail preparation, sale, and consumption of non-cannabis food and beverage
products.
Status: 10/8/2023-Vetoed by Governor.
Summary: This bill would have authorized, contingent upon approval of a local jurisdiction, a cannabis consumption lounge operator to prepare and sell onsite nonalcoholic, non-cannabis-infused food and beverages as well as host live events and sell tickets to those events. Additionally, the bill would have extended local authority to allow for the sale of prepackaged, non-cannabis-infused, nonalcoholic food and beverage products by any cannabis retailer (storefront and delivery).
AB 623
(Chen R) Cannabis: THC testing variances.
Status: 9/30/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 267, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill requires the DCC to establish regulations to adjust testing variances for edible cannabis products that contain less than 5 milligrams of THC in total.
AB 993
(Rubio, Blanca D) Cannabis Task Force
Status: 10/13/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 822, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill expands the Cannabis Task Force on regulation of commercial cannabis activity to include representatives from the Civil Rights Department and the Department of Industrial Relations.
AB 1126
(Lackey R) Cannabis: citation and fine.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 563, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill makes it a violation of state cannabis laws (punishable by fine) for any person to use or possess any package, label, advertisement, or other items bearing the universal cannabis symbol in connection with commercial activity, other than licensed commercial cannabis activity. Prohibited items could be seized as contraband; seizures could be conducted by any peace officer, or by employees of the DCC or the Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). When the universal symbol is used in connection with licensed commercial cannabis activity, the bill requires records to be kept demonstrating that fact. The bill does not apply to the noncommercial use of the universal symbol.
AB 1171
(Rubio, Blanca D) Cannabis: private right of action.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 467, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill authorizes a licensee under MAUCRSA to bring an action in superior court against a person engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license.
AB 1207
(Irwin D) Cannabis: labeling and advertising. Status: 10/8/2023-Vetoed by Governor.
Summary: This bill allows cannabis licensees to bring an action in superior court against illegal cannabis operators and seek compensation if they can show harm resulting from unlicensed activity. This bill also authorizes the court in that action to enter an order to enjoin a person from engaging in unlicensed cannabis activity.
AB 1448
(Wallis R) Cannabis: enforcement by local jurisdictions.
Status: 10/13/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 843, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: Redirects specified portions of civil penalties collected for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity from the General Fund to the treasurers of localities that brought the action for the penalties.
AB 1684
(Maienschein D) Local ordinances: fines and penalties: cannabis.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 477, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill expands existing law to allow local agencies to immediately impose administrative fines for penalties specified violations that exist as a result of the unlicensed cultivation of cannabis to also include the unlicensed manufacturing, processing, distribution, or retail sale of cannabis.
AB 1756
(Committee on Judiciary) Committee on Judiciary: judiciary omnibus.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 478, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This is an omnibus bill, which renames the Registry of Charitable Trusts to Registry of Charities and Fundraisers for charitable contributions from donors that meet specified criteria. As it relates to the DCC, this bill would amend Section 26070.5 (b)(1) of MAUCRSA to reflect this change.
SB 51
(Bradford D) Cannabis provisional licenses: local equity applicants.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 593, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill authorizes the DCC, until January 1, 2031, to issue provisional licenses to qualifying local equity applicants that conduct retailer activities and to allow for the renewal of a provisional license for up to five years from the date of issuance, or upon approval or denial of an annual license, whichever comes first. This bill also requires the DCC, on or before January 1, 2030, to report to the Legislature on the number of provisional licenses that have been granted, the number of provisional licenses that have been canceled upon issuance or denial of an annual license, etc. and the number of provisional licenses that remain active at the time of the report.
SB 101
(Skinner D) Budget Act of 2023.
Status: 6/27/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 12, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2023–24 fiscal year. This bill contained other related provisions.
SB 152
(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Background checks and fingerprinting: state employment, licensing, and contracting.
Status: 9/13/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 198, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This budget trailer bill contains language to implement the Budget Act of 2023 and includes technical changes to implement the federal criminal history background check provisions for state employees and license applicants. This bill also adds Type 14—Processor to the codified list of license classifications; and contains provisions that define “processor” and cannabis event organizer” for conforming and implementation purposes.
SB 302
(Stern D) Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 484, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill expands existing law requiring health facilities to permit terminally ill patients to have access to their medical cannabis to also require health facilities to permit patients who are over 65 years of age and have a chronic disease to have access to their medical cannabis, and includes home health agencies in the list of health facilities included in this law.
SB 540
(Laird D) Cannabis and cannabis products: health warnings.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 491, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill requires the DCC, in consultation with the Department of Public Health (CDPH), to create a brochure on steps for safer use of cannabis and would require, on or after March 1, 2025, a retailer or microbusiness selling, or a person delivering, cannabis or cannabis products to a consumer to prominently display the brochure. This bill also requires the DCC, by July 1, 2025, to evaluate its regulations on label warnings to determine if additional warnings are necessary. The brochure and label warning regulations must also be reevaluated every five years and updated, if necessary, based on evolving science.
SB 622
(Allen D) Cannabis regulation: plant identification program: unique identifier.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 496, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill amends current law to allow a unique identifier to be recorded in a manner as determined by the DCC through regulation.
SB 700
(Bradford D) Employment discrimination: cannabis use.
Status: 10/7/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 408, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill makes it unlawful for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis.
SB 753
(Caballero D) Cannabis: water resources.
Status: 10/8/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 504, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: The bill makes it a crime for a person 18 years of age or older to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 50 living cannabis plants, or any part thereof, except as specified, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to 6 months or by a fine of not more than $500, or both, or be charged
with a felony, if specified conditions exist, including a violation of pesticide provisions, taking or using water a conveyance or storage facility without permission, and extraction or use of groundwater from a unpermitted well or from a permitted well in excess of a restriction, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime and creating new crimes, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program.
SB 756
(Laird D) Water: inspection: administrative procedure: notice: service.
Status: 9/1/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 158, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board, in conducting an investigation or proceeding, to inspect the property or facilities of any person or entity to ascertain certain purposes are being met or compliance with specified requirements. This bill authorizes the board, if consent is denied for an inspection, to obtain an inspection warrant, as specified, or in the event of an emergency affecting public health and safety pertaining to the particular site under which the inspection is being sought, to conduct an inspection without consent or a warrant. The bill also authorizes the board to participate in an inspection of an unlicensed cannabis cultivation site, as specified.
SB 833
(McGuire D) Cannabis licensing: cultivation licenses: changing license type: inactive status.
Status: 10/13/2023-Approved by the Governor. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 886, Statutes of 2023.
Summary: This bill 1) requires the DCC, no later than March 1, 2024, to establish a cannabis licensing fallowing program for cannabis cultivators, 2) establishes certain eligibility criteria to participate in the program, and 3) allows a licensee who participates in the program to maintain their cultivation license, and pay a reduced license fee in an amount determined by the DCC. Cultivation licensees also have a one-time opportunity to change their license renewal date. This bill grants DCC the authority to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions.