Sacramento, California – California lawmakers have decided to give the state’s cannabis industry some breathing room. A bill that would reverse a steep 25 percent tax increase on marijuana sales is now on its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom, after passing both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Assembly Bill 564, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney of San Francisco, cleared the State Senate this week on a 39-1 vote. The Assembly had already passed it earlier this summer with a unanimous 74-0 margin. The measure would roll back the July tax hike and keep the excise rate at 15 percent through July 2028.
Haney said piling on extra costs at a moment when California’s cannabis market is struggling was shortsighted. “If we want to support our cannabis industry that drives millions of visitors to California every year, adding more costs makes absolutely no sense,” he said…