SB 23-199

Senate Bill 23-199, which has been approved by the governor and will take effect on August 7, 2023, changes how marijuana license applications are handled in Colorado. It requires applicants to pay both an application fee and a licensing fee, with the state keeping the application fee if the license is denied but allowing local authorities to choose whether to refund or keep their portion of the fee. Additionally, it gives the state authority to extend a state license for up to one year if local approval hasn't been received yet. This bill affects anyone applying for a marijuana business license in Colorado and aims to provide more flexibility and clarity in the licensing process.

Official Summary

A person applying for a marijuana license is required to pay both an application fee and a licensing fee. The act clarifies that the state licensing authority may issue a refund of a licensing fee if the marijuana license application is denied. Furthermore, the act states that the state licensing authority must retain the applicant's application fee, but a local licensing authority can choose to retain or refund an applicant's application fee. Current law requires a marijuana license applicant to obtain both a state license and local jurisdiction approval, and the state license is conditioned on local jurisdiction approval. The act provides an applicant the opportunity to renew, for up to one year, a state license that would otherwise expire because of failure to receive local jurisdiction approval at the discretion of the state licensing authority. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer from the general fund an amount equal to the unused general fund appropriation in the department of revenue's IDS print production line item at the end of state fiscal year 2022-23 to the department's marijuana cash fund. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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