California Assembly Bill AB21 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 21AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly  Member   Perea   Members   Bonta,   Cooley,   Jones-Sawyer,   Lackey,   and Wood   (   Principal coauthor:   Senator   McGuire   )   (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member   Daly   )  DECEMBER 1, 2014 An act to amend  Sections 38501 and 38561 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.   Section 11362.777 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical marijuana, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 21, as amended,  Perea   Bonta  .  California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: scoping plan.   Medical marijuana: cultivation licenses.   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, enacted by the Legislature, provides for the licensing and regulation by both state and local entities of medical marijuana and its cultivation. Existing law provides that if a city, county, or city and county does not have land use regulations or ordinances regulating or prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana, commencing March 1, 2016, the Department of Food and Agriculture is the sole licensing authority for medical marijuana cultivation applicants in that city, county, or city and county.   This bill would delete the provision that grants the department the sole licensing authority under those circumstances.   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.   The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, to be achieved by 2020, equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990.   The act also requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.   This bill would require the state board in preparing its scoping plan to consult with specified state agencies regarding matters involving energy efficiency and the facilitation of the electrification of the transportation sector.   This bill also would make various findings and declarations.  Vote:  majority   2/3  . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes   no  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 11362.777 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  11362.777. (a) The Department of Food and Agriculture shall establish a Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program to be administered by the secretary  and  , except as specified in subdivision (c), shall administer this section as it pertains to the cultivation of medical marijuana. For purposes of this section and Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 19300) of the Business and Professions Code, medical cannabis is an agricultural product. (b) (1) A person or entity shall not cultivate medical marijuana without first obtaining both of the following: (A) A license, permit, or other entitlement, specifically permitting cultivation pursuant to these provisions, from the city, county, or city and county in which the cultivation will occur. (B) A state license issued by the department pursuant to this section. (2) A person or entity shall not submit an application for a state license issued by the department pursuant to this section unless that person or entity has received a license, permit, or other entitlement, specifically permitting cultivation pursuant to these provisions, from the city, county, or city and county in which the cultivation will occur. (3) A person or entity shall not submit an application for a state license issued by the department pursuant to this section if the proposed cultivation of marijuana will violate the provisions of any local ordinance or regulation, or if medical marijuana is prohibited by the city, county, or city and county in which the cultivation is proposed to occur, either expressly or otherwise under principles of permissive zoning. (c) (1) Except as otherwise specified in this subdivision, and without limiting any other local regulation, a city, county, or city and county, through its current or future land use regulations or ordinance, may issue or deny a permit to cultivate medical marijuana pursuant to this section. A city, county, or city and county may inspect the intended cultivation site for suitability prior to issuing a permit. After the city, county, or city and county has approved a permit, the applicant shall apply for a state medical marijuana cultivation license from the department. A locally issued cultivation permit shall only become active upon licensing by the department and receiving final local approval. A person shall not cultivate medical marijuana prior to obtaining both a permit from the city, county, or city and county and a state medical marijuana cultivation license from the department. (2) A city, county, or city and county that issues or denies conditional licenses to cultivate medical marijuana pursuant to this section shall notify the department in a manner prescribed by the secretary. (3) A city, county, or city and county's locally issued conditional permit requirements must be at least as stringent as the department's state licensing requirements.  (4) If a city, county, or city and county does not have land use regulations or ordinances regulating or prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana, either expressly or otherwise under principles of permissive zoning, or chooses not to administer a conditional permit program pursuant to this section, then commencing March 1, 2016, the division shall be the sole licensing authority for medical marijuana cultivation applicants in that city, county, or city and county.  (d) (1) The secretary may prescribe, adopt, and enforce regulations relating to the implementation, administration, and enforcement of this part, including, but not limited to, applicant requirements, collections, reporting, refunds, and appeals. (2) The secretary may prescribe, adopt, and enforce any emergency regulations as necessary to implement this part. Any emergency regulation prescribed, adopted, or enforced pursuant to this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and, for purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of the regulation is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare. (3) The secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with a county agricultural commissioner to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, administration, investigations, inspections, licensing and assistance pertaining to the cultivation of medical marijuana. Compensation under the cooperative agreement shall be paid from assessments and fees collected and deposited pursuant to this chapter and shall provide reimbursement to the county agricultural commissioner for associated costs. (e) (1) The department, in consultation with, but not limited to, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, shall implement a unique identification program for medical marijuana. In implementing the program, the department shall consider issues, including, but not limited to, water use and environmental impacts. In implementing the program, the department shall ensure that: (A) Individual and cumulative effects of water diversion and discharge associated with cultivation do not affect the instream flows needed for fish spawning, migration, and rearing, and the flows needed to maintain natural flow variability. (B) Cultivation will not negatively impact springs, riparian wetlands, and aquatic habitats. (2) The department shall establish a program for the identification of permitted medical marijuana plants at a cultivation site during the cultivation period. The unique identifier shall be attached at the base of each plant. A unique identifier, such as, but not limited to, a zip tie, shall be issued for each medical marijuana plant. (A) Unique identifiers will only be issued to those persons appropriately licensed by this section. (B) Information associated with the assigned unique identifier and licensee shall be included in the trace and track program specified in Section 19335 of the Business and Professions Code. (C) The department may charge a fee to cover the reasonable costs of issuing the unique identifier and monitoring, tracking, and inspecting each medical marijuana plant. (D) The department may promulgate regulations to implement this section. (3) The department shall take adequate steps to establish protections against fraudulent unique identifiers and limit illegal diversion of unique identifiers to unlicensed persons. (f) (1) A city, county, or city and county that issues or denies licenses to cultivate medical marijuana pursuant to this section shall notify the department in a manner prescribed by the secretary. (2) Unique identifiers and associated identifying information administered by a city or county shall adhere to the requirements set by the department and be the equivalent to those administered by the department. (g) This section does not apply to a qualified patient cultivating marijuana pursuant to Section 11362.5 if the area he or she uses to cultivate marijuana does not exceed 100 square feet and he or she cultivates marijuana for his or her personal medical use and does not sell, distribute, donate, or provide marijuana to any other person or entity. This section does not apply to a primary caregiver cultivating marijuana pursuant to Section 11362.5 if the area he or she uses to cultivate marijuana does not exceed 500 square feet and he or she cultivates marijuana exclusively for the personal medical use of no more than five specified qualified patients for whom he or she is the primary caregiver within the meaning of Section 11362.7 and does not receive remuneration for these activities, except for compensation provided in full compliance with subdivision (c) of Section 11362.765. For purposes of this section, the area used to cultivate marijuana shall be measured by the aggregate area of vegetative growth of live marijuana plants on the premises. Exemption from the requirements of this section does not limit or prevent a city, county, or city and county from regulating or banning the cultivation, storage, manufacture, transport, provision, or other activity by the exempt person, or impair the enforcement of that regulation or ban.  SEC. 2.   This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:   To allow local governments to protect the health of their citizens by regulating marijuana at the earliest possible date, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.   SECTION 1.   Section 38501 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 38501. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Global warming poses a serious threat to the economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of California. The potential adverse impacts of global warming include the exacerbation of air quality problems, a reduction in the quality and supply of water to the state from the Sierra snowpack, a rise in sea levels resulting in the displacement of thousands of coastal businesses and residences, damage to marine ecosystems and the natural environment, and an increase in the incidences of infectious diseases, asthma, and other human health-related problems. (b) Global warming will have detrimental effects on some of California's largest industries, including agriculture, wine, tourism, skiing, recreational and commercial fishing, and forestry. It will also increase the strain on electricity supplies necessary to meet the demand for summer air-conditioning in the hottest parts of the state. (c) California has long been a national and international leader on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts, including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger vehicles. The program established by this division will continue this tradition of environmental leadership by placing California at the forefront of national and international efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. (d) National and international actions are necessary to fully address the issue of global warming. However, action taken by California to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases will have far-reaching effects by encouraging other states, the federal government, and other countries to act. (e) By exercising a global leadership role, California will also position its economy, technology centers, financial institutions, and businesses to benefit from national and international efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. More importantly, investing in the development of innovative and pioneering technologies will assist California in achieving the 2020 statewide limit on emissions of greenhouse gases established by this division and will provide an opportunity for the state to take a global economic and technological leadership role in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources Board coordinate with state agencies, as well as consult with the environmental justice community, industry sectors, business groups, academic institutions, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders, in implementing this division. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources Board consult with the Public Utilities Commission in the development of emissions reduction measures, including limits on emissions of greenhouse gases applied to electricity and natural gas providers regulated by the Public Utilities Commission in order to ensure that electricity and natural gas providers are not required to meet duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements. (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Air Resources Board design emissions reduction measures to meet the statewide emissions limits for greenhouse gases established pursuant to this division in a manner that cleans the environment in ways that are cost effective for California residents, minimizes costs and maximizes benefits for California's economy, improves and modernizes California's energy infrastructure and maintains electric system reliability, maximizes additional environmental and economic co-benefits for California, and complements the state's efforts to improve air quality. (i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Climate Action Team established by the Governor to coordinate the efforts set forth under Executive Order S-3-05 continue its role in coordinating overall climate policy.   SEC. 2.   Section 38561 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 38561. (a) (1) On or before January 1, 2009, the state board shall prepare and approve a scoping plan, as that term is understood by the state board, for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gases by 2020 under this division. (2) The state board shall consult with all state agencies with jurisdiction over sources of greenhouse gases, including the Public Utilities Commission and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in developing all elements of its plan that pertain to energy-related matters including, but not limited to, electrical generation, energy efficiency, load based-standards or requirements, the provision of reliable and affordable electrical service, petroleum refining, the facilitation of the electrification of the transportation sector, and statewide fuel supplies to ensure the greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities to be adopted and implemented by the state board are complementary, nonduplicative, and can be implemented in an efficient and cost-effective manner. (b) The plan shall identify and make recommendations on direct emissions reduction measures, alternative compliance mechanisms, market-based compliance mechanisms, and potential monetary and nonmonetary incentives for sources and categories of sources that the state board finds are necessary or desirable to facilitate the achievement of the maximum feasible and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. (c) In making the determinations required by subdivision (b), the state board shall consider all relevant information pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions reduction programs in other states, localities, and nations, including the northeastern states of the United States, Canada, and the European Union. (d) The state board shall evaluate the total potential costs and total potential economic and noneconomic benefits of the plan for reducing greenhouse gases to California's economy, environment, and public health, using the best available economic models, emission estimation techniques, and other scientific methods. (e) In developing its plan, the state board shall take into account the relative contribution of each source or source category to statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for adverse effects on small businesses, and shall recommend a de minimis threshold of greenhouse gas emissions below which emissions reduction requirements will not apply. (f) In developing its plan, the state board shall identify opportunities for emissions reduction measures from all verifiable and enforceable voluntary actions, including, but not limited to, carbon sequestration projects and best management practices. (g) The state board shall conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan. The state board shall conduct a portion of these workshops in regions of the state that have the most significant exposure to air pollutants, including, but not limited to, communities with minority populations, communities with low-income populations, or both. (h) The state board shall update its plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions at least once every five years.