BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 243
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
243 (Wood) - As Amended April 22, 2015
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|Policy |Agriculture |Vote:|6 - 2 |
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| |Environmental Safety and Toxic | |6 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes a new regulatory regime for the
cultivation of marijuana, based on the current pilot project
conducted by the State Water Resources Control Board (WRCB) and
the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), to address
environmental impacts and expand enforcement efforts statewide.
Specifically, this bill:
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1)Requires cities and counties, by July 1, 2016, to adopt an
ordinance to implement the requirements of this bill, or adopt
a resolution to opt out of being the responsible entity for
implementing the requirements of the bill; and requires the
Governor to designate an appropriate state agency to implement
the requirements of the bill in each city and county that opts
out of responsibility.
2)Requires all qualified persons associated with legal medical
marijuana cultivation to obtain a permit from the local
designated agency or state agency that specifies the location
and number of plants authorized to be grown at the location;
and authorizes the relevant agency to charge an administrative
fee to cover the costs of permit issuances.
3)Limits the maximum number of plants that may be authorized at
a site to 99; prohibits the use of lights that exceed 1,200
watts per 100 square feet of cultivation; prohibits outdoor
marijuana cultivation from being within 100 feet of a home or
school, but authorizes a city or county to increase that
distance to a mile; and requires cultivation sites to be
enclosed with a six foot tall fence and out of sight from the
public.
4)Limits the number of plants at a residential home to 6 unless
the city or county adopts a higher limit; prohibits
residential cultivation from being within 100 feet of a
school, but authorizes a city or county to increase that
distance to one mile; and requires buildings where marijuana
is cultivated or stored to be properly secured.
5)Requires relevant agencies to distribute zip ties for
marijuana plant identification and authorizes the agencies to
charge administrative fees to cover the cost of issuing zip
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ties and monitoring, tracking, and inspecting the plants;
requires a copy of a valid state-issued medical marijuana ID
card or physician recommendation to be displayed at
cultivation sites.
6)Exempts qualified patients cultivating marijuana under the
Compassionate Use Act of 1996 if they are cultivating for
personal medical use and do not sell, distribute, donate, or
otherwise provide marijuana to any other person or entity, and
exempts primary caregivers for medical use for up to 5
qualified patients.
7)Authorizes the relevant agencies to revoke or suspend a
permit, deny issuance of a permit or impose fines for
violations; permits cities and counties to enact more
restrictive ordinances, including complete prohibition, on
marijuana cultivation, and does not preclude any existing city
or county ordinances on cultivation of marijuana.
8)Requires regional water boards and WRCB to address waste
discharges resulting from marijuana cultivation, including
establishing new waste discharge requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Annual GF costs in excess of $6 million to WRCB and DFW to
expand enforcement efforts and implementation. Eventually costs
would be funded from permit fees.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, medical marijuana growers
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operate in a gray area between conflicting state and federal
law, which has precluded the establishment of regulations to
protect vulnerable watersheds and prevent other environmental
damage. This bill is intended to establish basic regulations
for the cultivation of medical marijuana, including a program
to track medical marijuana plants. The author believes
tracking plants will allow state and local law enforcement to
quickly identify legal and illegal plants, and the regulatory
structure will help prevent environmental damage, particularly
to the North Coast.
According to ArcView Group, a marijuana research and
investment firm, marijuana legalization advocacy groups have
already planned for legalization ballot initiatives in at
least six states in 2016, including California. Growth in
demand for legal marijuana has led to substantial increases in
cultivation. The US Forest Service indicates illicit and
unregulated marijuana cultivation has led to uncontrolled use
of pesticides, logging, illegal waterway diversions, habitat
destruction, and toxic waste discharges in Northern
California.
2)Current Pilot. In response to a rapid increase in marijuana
cultivation in recent years, WRCB and DFW developed a pilot
project to devise and enforce environmental regulations with
respect to medical marijuana cultivation. The Budget Act of
2014 appropriated $1.8 million to WRCB and $1.5 million to DFW
for the creation of a multi-disciplinary Marijuana Task Force
and priority-driven approach to address damage to natural
resources from marijuana cultivation on private land and high
conservation value public lands. According to the January
2015 joint report to the Legislature, WRCB and DFW focused the
projects initial efforts along the north coast and central
valley.
The pilot project has four primary components: (i) development
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of a regulatory program; (ii) targeted enforcement in high
value watersheds; (iii) education and outreach to cultivators
about best practices; and (iv) multi-agency coordination at
the state level. WRCB is in the process of developing and
promulgating waste discharge permits for marijuana
cultivators, which will eventually require all cultivators to
pay a fee and comply with certain terms, including water
conservation measures, site operations plans, fuel storage and
maintenance, appropriate stream crossings and growing pads,
and fertilizer and pest control use.
Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)
319-2081