CEPC's 2022 Accomplishments
2022 Legislative Victories
2022 was an exciting year in the state legislature for the Cannabis Equity Policy Council. We were happy to announce that we secured a majority of our legislative priorities.
Tax Reform
This year CEPC defied the odds and was able to get significant tax reform done specifically for cannabis equity businesses. Through a new Vendor Compensation Program, Equity businesses will receive an annual payment from the state equal to a 3% reduction on their total annual tax bill. We will send a full summary and breakdown of this new tax rebate program in our newsletter next week. This would not have been possible without the support of our coalition partner, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union!
Overview of the revenue CEPC secured for social equity businesses:
The Budget Trailer Bill (AB 195)
$60 million for Social Equity
Vendor Compensation Program
$20 million
State 280E Relief (High Road Employer)
$20 million
Social Equity Tax Credit
$20 million
Out-of-state commerce
CA State Task Force on State and Local Regulation of Commercial Cannabis Activity
CEPC played a prominent role in creating a task force on state and local regulation of commercial cannabis activity. The task force's purpose will be to promote communication between state and local entities engaged in regulating commercial cannabis activity and in ensuring the equity grants for local governments are being used as intended.
SB 1326 (Caballero) - cannabis commerce interstate agreements.
CEPC is proud that one of our top priority bills, SB 1326, by Senator Caballero, will soon be on its way to the Governor's desk. SB 1326 lays the foundation for interstate agreements regarding commercial cannabis activity. It also requires that any interstate agreement signed by the Governor related to commercial cannabis activity promotes the inclusion and support of individuals and communities in the cannabis industry connected to populations or neighborhoods that were negatively or disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization.
CEPC's President was appointed to CA Cannabis Advisory Committee!
This year CEPC's secured a major victory when our board President, Madison Shockley III, was appointed to the Department of Cannabis Control's (DCC) Cannabis Advisory Committee (CAC).
The Cannabis Advisory Committee (CAC) is tasked with advising DCC on developing relevant standards and regulations for commercial cannabis businesses, including those necessary to protect public health and safety. These requirements are guided by California cannabis law.
This appointment positioned CEPC to be very influential in all future regulations the DCC will consider in the coming years.
Partnership with legacy cannabis farmers.
This year CEPC was able to form a partnership with the Origins Council, which represents most of the small cannabis farmers throughout California. Through this partnership, we have coordinated legislative outreach, which helped ensure that most of our legislative priorities were successful this year. Through these types of partnerships, we can ensure that equity operators and legacy farmers have a level playing field to compete in today's corporate-dominated market.
Local organization coalition building
Local equity advocacy organizations are the heart and soul of CEPC. Over the last year, we successfully built a first-of-its-kind coalition with equity organizations from San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento. Through this coalition, we have been able to ensure that equity has had an equal voice in the legislative process in Sacramento this year.
CA Policies Updates - free of charge
In 2022 CEPC held several statewide legislative policy updates for advocates and organizations working on cannabis policy. While many associations keep their legislative updates closed off to members-only, CEPC decided to allow anyone or any organization interested to attend our legislative policy update. These updates have played a substantial role in helping CEPC build a statewide coalition of equity advocates and operators.