SB 24-076

Senate Bill 24-076, titled "Streamline Marijuana Regulation," makes several changes to Colorado's marijuana laws. It updates the definition of an immature plant and removes identification card requirements for beneficial owners in medical and retail marijuana businesses. The bill also extends license periods from one year to two years, allows multiple business licenses with the same owner to submit a single application, and restricts food sales by licensed stores to no more than 20% of their annual revenue. Additionally, it clarifies rules around contaminated marijuana products and requires medical marijuana stores to attach educational materials to concentrate purchases. The bill was signed into law on June 5, 2024, and will take effect on August 7, 2024, impacting both existing and future marijuana businesses in Colorado.

Official Summary

The act amends the existing definition of "immature plant" to mean a nonflowering marijuana plant that is no taller than 15, rather than 8, inches; no wider than15, rather than 8, inches; and produced from a cutting, clipping, or seedling. Current law requires beneficial owners and people who have access to the limited access areas of a medical marijuana business or retail marijuana business to have identification cards. The act repeals this requirement for beneficial owners. The act requires the state licensing authority to promulgate rules that do not require a licensee to use radio frequency identification technology to track regulated marijuana. Current law requires the marijuana enforcement division in the department of revenue (division) to promulgate rules requiring testing of marijuana and marijuana products for contaminants or substances that are harmful to health and allows a licensee to remediate marijuana or marijuana products that fail a test. The act clarifies that if a licensee is able to remediate or decontaminate a product and the product passes retesting, the licensee need not provide an additional label that would otherwise not be required for a product that passed initial testing. Current law requires every marijuana business to post, at all times and in a prominent place, a warning about using marijuana while pregnant or breastfeeding. The act requires the warning to be posted at each point of sale. Current law allows a person who qualifies as a social equity licensee to apply for any regulated marijuana business license or permit, including an accelerator store, accelerator cultivator, or accelerator manufacturer license. The act establishes new criteria under which a natural person may qualify as a social equity licensee and excludes certain persons from qualifying as a social equity licensee. The act extends initial license and license renewal periods from one year to 2 years. Local authorities may decide what licenses they will issue for one year or 2 years. The act requires the state licensing authority to promulgate rules authorizing multiple regulated marijuana business licensees with identical controlling beneficial owners to submit a single initial or renewal application. The act requires a medical marijuana store, when completing a sale of medical marijuana concentrate, to physically attach to the receipt, container, or packaging the tangible educational resource created by the state licensing authority regarding the use of medical marijuana concentrate. Current law allows the transfer of immature plants, seeds, and genetic material between a medical or retail cultivation facility and certain people, including people approved by rule. The act allows such a transfer from or to a medical or retail marijuana cultivation facility from or to a person permitted by another jurisdiction to possess or cultivate marijuana. The medical or retail cultivation facility must establish a process to confirm that the purchaser is 21 years of age or older using an age verification process. The cultivation facility may accept online payments for the transfer. A cultivation facility may accept online payment for genetic material but is prohibited from transferring genetic material to consumers that are on the licensed premises. The state licensing authority may promulgate rules to implement the provision, but limits are placed on the rules that the state licensing authority may adopt. The act prohibits a licensed retail marijuana store from selling food in excess of 20% of the store's annual gross revenues. Current law sets the amount of the application fee for a retail marijuana business at $5,000. The act allows the state licensing authority to set the initial application fee in an amount not to exceed $5,000. The state licensing authority must set the amount of the application fee to offset the direct and indirect costs of regulating retail marijuana businesses. Current law requires that excise tax be levied on the first transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana. The act specifies that the transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana exclusively for microbial control is not the first transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana for taxation purposes. Current law requires a taxpayer to be engaged in a business that is legal under both state and federal law in order to claim an enterprise zone tax credit. The act removes this restriction for a marijuana business that is licensed under state law. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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