21RS HB 461

House Bill 461

Actions

Last Action	02/10/21: to Committee on Committees (H)
Title	AN ACT relating to the regulation of cannabis and making an appropriation therefor.
Bill Documents	Introduced
Fiscal Impact Statements	Corrections Impact Local Mandate
Bill Request Number	479
Sponsors	N. Kulkarni, A. Scott, L. Willner
Summary of Original Version	Establish KRS Chapter 245 and create new sections thereof to define terms, including "cannabis accessory", "cannabis product", "immature cannabis plant", and "mature cannabis plant"; require cannabis to be tracked from seed to consumer; establish license types, application fees, and license fees; specify allowed transactions for each license type; require the board to promulgate an administrative regulation for license applications; set license length at one year and allow the board to establish renewal system; set forth an applicant scoring system; establish parameters for social equity applicant and disproportionately impacted areas; require cannabis retail stores to be separate from other store and only carry cannabis, cannabis products, and cannabis accessories; create requirements for child-proof packaging and labeling; establish procedures for license denial and a hearing in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B; establish payments in lieu of suspension for licensees and direct the funds to the agency's revolving trust and agency account and the criminal justice reinvestment fund; establish minimum age of 21 to use or buy cannabis and create status offense for minors under eighteen; ban smoking cannabis in public; and require signs in retail locations regarding minors and the US Surgeon General's statement on cannabis; create new sections of KRS Chapter 138 to define "cannabis", "cannabis administrator", and "cannabis product"; set wholesale tax rates and payment schedules for cannabis cultivator and processor licensees, allow local governments to impose up to a five percent regulatory license fee on cannabis licensees in their territory; establish conditions for tax liability; impose civil penalties for tax violations; create a new section of KRS Chapter 245 to set conditions for the cannabis tax rates effective July 1, 2026 and beyond; amend KRS 2.015 to exempt cannabis from age of majority; amend KRS 241.020 to include a Division of Cannabis in the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control; amend KRS 241.030 to add administrator of the Division of Cannabis; amend KRS 241.060 to add supervision of the cultivation, processing, testing, and trafficking of cannabis to the board's duties and require Department of Agriculture to review regulations for cultivators prior to filing; amend KRS 241.090 to add cannabis to search provisions; amend KRS 243.025 to direct application fees for cannabis licenses into the agency revolving trust account; amend KRS 218A.1421 to exempt cannabis licenses from trafficking statute; amend KRS 218A.1422 to exempt one ounce of marijuana from possession statute; amend KRS 218A.1423 to permit cannabis cultivator licensees to cultivate under their license; amend KRS 218A.500 to exclude cannabis accessories from drug paraphernalia; create a new section of KRS Chapter 431 to create process for expungement of marijuana misdemeanor charges and to waive fees; amend KRS 431.079 to exclude need for certification of eligibility for expungement; amend KRS 131.1815 to include cannabis licensees in delinquent taxpayer statute; amend KRS 600.020 to include cannabis offenses in the definition of status offense; amend KRS 12.020 to create Division of Cannabis within the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Index Headings of Original Version	Corrections Impact - Marijuana, expungement of misdemeanor convictions Local Mandate - Cannabis Licensees, creation and regulation Courts - Marijuana, expungement of misdemeanor convictions Crimes and Punishments - Marijuana, decriminalization of less than one ounce Economic Development - Cannabis business, creation of licensing system Fees - Cannabis licensees, creation Licensing - Cannabis Licensees, creation and regulation Taxation - Cannabis, tax rates Cannabis - Licenses, creation and regulation