Energy

AB 450 (McCarty) – Support
As Introduced February 23, 2015

AB 450, by Assembly Member McCarty, would expand the PACE program by allowing cap and trade auction revenue to be allocated to the PACE program and specifically the reserve fund, which is a reserve account to keep mortgage lenders whole in the case of a foreclosure or a forced sale. Expanding PACE would assist property owners in being part of the solution to reduce GHGs and create high paying jobs for the workers who install the clean energy upgrades. This bill will be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on June 17, 2015.

Solid Waste

AB 1103 (Dodd) – Request for Comments
As Proposed to be Amended 

AB 1103, by Assembly Member Dodd, is related to defining food waste. According to the author, the bill will assist commercial generators and local governments in clarifying what is meant by “food waste” in order to help monitor what is being recycled and what is landfilled. Proposed amendments would take the bill further and would require the registration of transporters of food waste; require transporters to account and report the amount of food waste collected quarterly (any amount above 1 cubic yard per week); and, would enforce the transporter registration and accounting system. If you would like to review the proposed amendments, please contact Cara Martinson at cmartinson@counties.org. This bill has been referred to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

Medical Marijuana

AB 266 (Bonta) – Support if Amended
As Amended June 2, 2015

AB 243 (Wood) – Concerns
As Amended June 1, 2015

SB 643 (McGuire) – Request Amendments
As Amended June 3, 2015

This week the Assembly passed with a bipartisan 60-8 vote, compromise medical marijuana legislation that merges features of AB 34, by Assembly Members Rob Bonta and Reginald Jones-Sawyer, into AB 266 by Assembly Member Ken Cooley. AB 266 is now the Assembly vehicle for a statewide medical marijuana licensing and regulatory framework. The recent amendments designate Assembly Member Bonta as the lead author with Assembly Members Cooley and Jones-Sawyer as co-authors. Assembly AB 34 was held in Committee.

As recently amended, AB 266 would create the Governor’s Office of Marijuana Regulation to oversee and coordinate three new medical marijuana regulatory divisions in: (1) the Dept of Food and Agriculture for cultivation, (2) Public Health for product safety and labeling, and (3) the Board of Equalization for licensing). This bill would also establish dual-licensing provisions with the state providing the conditional license and local governments issuing the permanent license if allowed under local government ordinances. This bill provides for a detailed state regulatory process and also maintains local government control and the ability of counties to ban medical cannabis activities. 

CSAC joined with the Urban County Caucus in expressing a “support if amended” position on the June 2 version of AB 266. While the bill includes much of the language that was requested by CSAC, UCC and the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) we have requested additional amendments that would:

• Ensure that the new language maintains local control and limits county enforcement responsibilities.
• Delete the language related to unadulterated food products under the definition of edibles.
• Add a county supervisor to the list of representatives on the task force.
• Clarify the language related to the county taxing authority.

If these amendments are included in AB 266, CSAC and UCC will move to a support position. RCRC staff will be recommending a support position to their Board at their June 18 meeting. AB 266 is awaiting committee assignment in the Senate.

AB 243, by Assembly Member Jim Wood, also passed off the Assembly Floor. This measure would establish a new regulatory regime for medical marijuana cultivation. It would also require state agencies to address environmental impacts of medical marijuana cultivation, and require each regional water quality control board to address discharges of waste resulting from medical marijuana cultivation. CSAC has expressed concern to the author with another provision of the bill that would circumvent local land-use control by requiring counties without cultivation ordinances to adopt cultivation ordinances that include a program for the identification of permitted marijuana plants, akin to a zip-tie scheme. We are hoping to have this issue addressed before the bill is heard in the Senate.

SB 643, by Senator Mike McGuire, moved off the Senate Floor on Thursday, June 4. This measure would enact the Medical Marijuana Public Safety and Environmental Protection Act. It would establish a licensing and regulatory framework for the cultivation, manufacture, transportation, storage, distribution and sale of medical marijuana to be administered by an Office of Medical Marijuana Regulation in the Business, Consumer Services Housing Agency and enforced primarily at the local level. CSAC, UCC and RCRC are seeking amendments to the SB 643 to address a few outstanding issues related to local control provisions, taxing authorities, and transportation issues. SB 643 is now awaiting a committee assignment in the Assembly.