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Lawmakers, governor reach tax compromise.
After more than six months, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have a unified tax reform proposal.
As Cannabis Wire has reported throughout 2022, the tax reform debate has been center stage in the state. Advocates pushed with letters and rallies, lawmakers responded with several bills, and then Newsom added his own proposal in his budget.
The solutions varied, from ending the cultivation tax but raising the tax at retail, to ending the cultivation tax and reducing taxes at retail.
Where did things land?
The 2022-2023 budget, on which lawmakers and Newsom agreed this week, proposes a trailer bill, that: “sets cannabis cultivation tax rate to zero” and “keeps the cannabis excise rate at 15 percent for three years,” but “allows the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the Department of Cannabis Control, to adjust the cannabis excise tax rate every two years that would capture revenues equivalent to the cultivation tax,” according to a floor report.
Lawmakers have until September to pass the bill, which is not subject to the same deadline as the overall budget.
Other cannabis provisions included in the budget range from funding for a study on cannabis impairment to tax credits for equity licensees.
Food and drug officials group to tackle federal regulatory framework.
The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and Foundation of Cannabis United Standards (FOCUS) have “officially” launched their joint efforts to develop a “Federal Regulatory Framework” for cannabis in the United States.
They held their first workgroup meeting last month and the group introduced the Federal Regulatory Framework charter during AFDO’s 126th Annual Educational Conference earlier in June.
Lezli Engelking, founder of FOCUS, said in the announcement that the “lack of clarity” at the federal level is a threat to public health, but it also “risks the potential future of the U.S. as the major player in the global cannabis economy.”
As Cannabis Wire reported this week, the United Nations tried to make sense of global cannabis data in their latest drug report, noting increasing regulation of cannabis.
Texas researchers received Dept. of Energy grant to study 3D printable hempcrete.
Texas A&M University researchers received a $3.74 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Harnessing Emissions into Structures Taking Inputs from the Atmosphere (HESTIA) program.
Researchers will study how 3D printing with hempcrete could create new resilient buildings and reduce the environmental impact that more traditional construction methods produce. Hempcrete is made from a combination of hemp powder, fibers, and water to make a lighter, “greener” material.
The researchers on the project will make their designs 3D printable, with the hope for more widespread uptake from the construction industry.
“Resilience to natural hazards is intertwined with environmental sustainability because building damage and subsequent repairs due to extreme events such as hurricanes result in major environmental impacts,” lead researcher Petros Sideris said in the announcement.
“The advancements of this project will contribute to the U.S. maintaining its worldwide leadership in advanced construction methods and infrastructure sustainability and resilient technologies.”