State Budget Bill Includes $100 Million in Funding to Assist with Cannabis Licensing
By Lauren Mendelsohn
June 15, 2021
Last month, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the “California Comeback Plan” to revitalize the Golden State’s economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of this plan involves $100 in state grant funding that would be available to local jurisdictions with high numbers of provisional licensees to assist these operators in obtaining compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for annual licensure. The funds for this “Cannabis Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program” would be available to specific jurisdictions, though they would still have to submit applications to demonstrate they qualify to receive them, and there would be restrictions on what these funds could be used for.
The 2021 Budget Act (AB-128) that was passed by the state legislature and presented to the Governor on June 14, 2021 reveals how much each of the local jurisdictions identified as eligible for receiving grants could apply for in Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Funding:
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$972,696 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Adelanto.
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$416,870 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Commerce.
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$822,160 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Desert Hot Springs.
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$18,635,137 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Humboldt.
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$2,101,143 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Lake.
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$3,935,942 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Long Beach.
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$22,312,360 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Los Angeles.
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$18,084,837 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Mendocino.
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$1,737,035 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Monterey.
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$9,905,020 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Oakland.
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$1,221,188 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Nevada.
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$5,786,617 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Sacramento.
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$764,261 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of San Diego.
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$3,075,769 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City and County of San Francisco.
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$775,841 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the City of Santa Rosa.
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$1,158,023 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Sonoma.
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$3,295,102 of the funding available pursuant to this provision shall be available to the County of Trinity.
AB 128 spells out how these funds can be applied for, and how the Department of Cannabis Control will review grant applications submitted by these jurisdictions.
This is a developing story — stay tuned for further updates.
This information is provided as a public educational service and is not intended as legal advice. For specific questions regarding cannabis or hemp laws in California, please contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at 707-829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com to schedule a confidential legal consultation.