BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 266|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 266
Author: Bonta (D), Cooley (D), Jones-Sawyer (D), and Lackey
(R), et al.
Amended: 9/11/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 8-1, 7/15/15
AYES: Hernandez, Hall, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Roth,
Wolk
NOES: Nguyen
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 7/15/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Moorlach
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen, Lara, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-8, 6/4/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Medical Board of California: cannabis
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes a licensing and regulatory
framework for medical marijuana under the Medical Marijuana
Regulation and Safety Act (MMRS Act) and establishes the Bureau
of Medical Marijuana Regulation (Bureau) within the Department
of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits criminal prosecution, pursuant to the Compassionate
Use Act (CUA) of 1996, also known as Proposition 215, of a
qualified patient with specified illnesses or a patient's
primary caregiver for the possession or cultivation of medical
marijuana/cannabis (MM) upon the written or oral
recommendation or approval of an attending physician.
Encourages federal and state governments to implement a plan
to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of MM to
those who need it. Specifies that existing law related to MM
is not to be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting
conduct that endangers others or to condone the diversion of
MM for nonmedical purposes.
2)Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to establish
and maintain a voluntary Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) by
which patients can apply for medical marijuana identification
cards (MMICs) when deemed appropriate by his or her attending
physician. Requires county health departments to issue MMICs,
as specified, to patients and primary caregivers who
voluntarily register for the MMP. Specifies that MMICs are
valid for one year and may be renewed annually. Requires DPH
to develop a system by which state and local law enforcement
officers can immediately verify the MMIC's validity. Prohibits
state or local law enforcement officers from refusing to
accept MMICs unless there is reasonable cause to believe that
the MMIC is being used fraudulently or its information is
false or fraudulent.
3)Makes it a misdemeanor offense to, among other things,
fraudulently represent a medical condition or provide any
material misinformation to a physician, health department
designee, or to law enforcement, for the purpose of falsely
obtaining MMICs; fraudulently use any person's MMIC in order
to acquire, possess, cultivate, transport, use, produce, or
distribute MM; counterfeit, tamper with, or fraudulently
produce MMICs; and breach any confidentiality requirements
pertaining to the MMIC program.
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4)Prohibits anything in the MMP from preventing a city or other
local governing body from adopting local ordinances that
regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a MM
cooperative or collective, or prohibiting one from operating
within its borders; enforcing local ordinances for civil or
criminal purposes; or enacting other laws consistent with the
MMP.
This bill:
Administration
1)Establishes the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation within
DCA and confers upon the department the sole authority to
create, issue, renew, discipline, suspend, or revoke licenses
for the transportation, storage unrelated to manufacturing
activities, distribution, and sale of MM within the state and
to collect fees in connection with activities the Bureau
regulates.
2)Requires the public's health and safety to be the highest
priority for the Bureau in exercising licensing, regulatory,
and disciplinary functions.
3)Allows the Bureau to convene an advisory committee to advise
the Bureau and licensing authorities on the development of
standards and regulations, including best practices and
guidelines to ensure qualified patients have adequate access
to MM and MM products.
4)Requires DPH to promulgate regulations governing the licensing
of MM manufacturers and testing laboratories.
Enforcement
5)Specifies that grounds for disciplinary action include:
failure to comply with provisions in this bill or any rule or
regulation adopted regarding MM, conduct that constitutes
grounds for denial of licensure, other grounds contained in
regulations adopted by licensing authorities, and failure to
comply with state law.
6)Allows licensing authorities to take disciplinary action
against a licensee for any violation of any provision in this
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bill. Requires a licensing authority to inform the Bureau upon
suspension or revocation of a license.
7)Requires all persons engaging in commercial MM activity
without a license to be subject to civil penalties of up to
twice the amount of the license fee for each violation.
Licensure
8)Requires DCA, DPH, and the Department of Food and Agriculture
(DFA) to promulgate regulations for implementation of their
respective responsibilities in the administration of the MMRS
Act.
9)Allows licensing authorities to issue state licenses only to
qualified applicants engaging in commercial MM activity.
10)Prohibits a person from engaging in commercial MM activity
without possessing both a state license and a local license,
permit, or other authorization.
11)Specifies that revocation of a local license, permit, or
other authorization and/or revocation of a state license shall
terminate a licensee's ability to operate within the state
until the local jurisdiction or licensing authority reinstates
or reissues the state or local license, permit, or other
authorization.
12)Repeals existing statute allowing qualified patients and
designated primary caregivers to collectively or cooperatively
cultivate MM for medical purposes one year after the Bureau
posts on its Internet Web site that licensing authorities have
commenced issuing licenses pursuant to the MMRS Act.
Regulation of MM
13)Prohibits a person, other than a licensed transporter, to
transport MM or MM products from one licensee to another
licensee, unless otherwise specified.
14)Requires all licensees holding cultivation or manufacturing
licenses to send all MM and MM products to a licensed
processor for processing and testing.
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15)Requires licensed cultivators and manufacturers to package
and seal all MM and MM products in tamper-evident packaging
and use a unique identifier, as prescribed by DFA, for the
purpose of identifying and tracking MM and MM products.
16)Prohibits MM packages and labels from being made to be
attractive to children. Requires MM product labels to include,
but not limited to, the following statements: "Keep out of
reach of children and animals"; "For medical use only"; "The
intoxicating effects of this product may be delayed by up to
two hours"; and warnings if nuts or other known allergens are
used.
17)Requires MM and MM products to be tested by a registered
testing laboratory prior to retail sale or dispensing, as
specified.
18)Allows the Bureau to examine the books and records of a
licensee and inspect the premises of a licensee as the
licensing authority or a state agency deems necessary to
perform its duties.
19)Makes it a violation for a licensee or its agent, or
employee, to refuse, impede, obstruct, or interfere with an
inspection of the premise or records of the licensee.
20)Prohibits an MM licensee from also being licensed as a
retailer of alcoholic beverages.
Reporting
21)Requires, beginning March 1, 2023, and on or before March 1
of each following year, each licensing authority to prepare
and submit to the Legislature an annual report on the
authority's activities and post it on its Internet Web site to
include, but not be limited to:
a) The amount of funds allocated and spent by the licensing
authority for MM licensing, enforcement, and
administration;
b) The number of state licenses issued, renewed, denied,
suspended, and revoked, by state license category;
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c) The average time for processing state license
applications, by state license category;
d) The number and type of enforcement activities conducted
by the licensing authorities and by local law enforcement
agencies in conjunction with the licensing authorities or
the Bureau; and
e) The number, type, and amount of penalties, fines, and
other disciplinary actions taken by the licensing
authorities.
22)Requires the Bureau to contract with the California Marijuana
Research Program, known as the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research, to develop a study that identifies the impact that
MM has on motor skills.
Privacy
23)Deems as confidential any information identifying the names
of qualified patients, their medical conditions, or the names
of their primary caregivers received and contained in records
kept by the Bureau or licensing authorities for the purposes
of administering provisions of this bill, and prohibits
disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
This version of the bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-8, 6/4/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
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Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond,
Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Cooper, Gallagher,
Gatto, Irwin
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Campos, Dahle, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Harper, Jones, Kim, Obernolte, Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Reyes Diaz / HEALTH /
9/11/15 18:58:34
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