AP15:082
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures yesterday.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes marijuana under state law. Creates commission to license and regulate marijuana industry. Establishes procedures for resentencing of persons convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses. Imposes state excise tax on marijuana of $.42 per gram of dried marijuana and $2.00 per gram of concentrated marijuana. Imposes temporary additional state excise tax of 2.5% on marijuana retail sales. Permits local taxes of up to 10% on marijuana sales, with voter approval. Provides for collection of marijuana taxes by Board of Equalization. Exempts medical marijuana from some taxation. Limits local regulation of marijuana. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Reduced costs ranging from tens of millions of dollars to potentially exceeding $100 million annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Net additional state and local tax revenues of potentially up to several hundred million dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana, most of which is designated to be spent on drug education and counseling services, state parks, research related to the medical use of marijuana, and regulation of commercial marijuana activities. (15-0052.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1714 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0052.
The proponents of the measure, Chad M. Hanes and Marinda D. Hanes, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by April 26, 2016. The proponents can be reached at (415) 915-5420.
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