Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1014 Cannabis: retailers: delivery: vehicles.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Fifty-four percent of California’s legal adult-use cannabis consumers utilize delivery as their only option for purchasing cannabis goods in the state.
(b) For medical users, delivery offers greater patient access to medical cannabis goods for those who are unable to travel to a retailer.
(c) The net impact of delivery reduces traffic given that drivers take multiple orders on each trip, reducing individual trips to retailers by consumers.
(d) The illicit market, subjecting Californians to untested cannabis goods, is found to be three times the size of the regulated markets according to a 2019 audit.
(e) Over 75 percent of illicit market retailers are delivery operations, thereby making it very difficult for local and state enforcement officers to track them down.
(f) The organized and established illicit market delivery operators are carrying cannabis goods inventory valued at over $25,000 in each unregulated vehicle to speed their deliveries, thus creating a major competitive disadvantage for the licensed operators that are subjected to the $3,000 to $5,000 inventory limitations on their regulated vehicles.
(g) To take cannabis production and sales out of the hands of the illegal market and bring them under the regulatory structure that prevents access by minors and protects public safety, public health, and the environment, it is necessary to increase the value of cannabis goods to be carried by delivery employees of licensees and to enact additional safeguards and requirements to ensure the safe operation of those employees.

SEC. 2.

 Section 26090.1 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

26090.1.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2023, the regulations established by the bureau pursuant to Section 26070 regarding the minimum security and transportation safety requirements shall include regulations consistent with this section that would allow for an increase in the value of cannabis goods to be carried during delivery of those cannabis goods to customers by employees of a licensed retailer, pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) The maximum value of cannabis goods that can be carried during delivery of those cannabis goods by an employee of a licensed retailer in a vehicle is ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The maximum value of cannabis goods carried during delivery pursuant to this section may include any of the following:
(1) Cannabis goods for which a delivery order was received and processed by the licensed retailer prior to the delivery employee departing from the licensed premise.
(2) Cannabis goods for which a delivery order was not received and processed by the licensed retailer prior to the delivery employee departing from the licensed premise.
(3) A combination of cannabis goods described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
(c) The value of the cannabis goods shall be determined using the current retail price of all cannabis goods carried by, or within the delivery vehicle of, the licensed retailer’s delivery employee.
(d) (1) A licensed retailer shall provide their delivery employee all required hardware, tools, and supplies, including, but not limited to, a dedicated GPS monitoring device, a secured case to hold cannabis products while on delivery, a method to lock the case to the interior of the vehicle, and a dashboard camera if required by local ordinance or regulation.
(2) If a delivery employee uses their own vehicle for the delivery of cannabis goods, the employing licensed retailer shall reimburse the employee for all legally required costs associated with conducting business with that vehicle under state and federal law.
(3) If a licensed retailer provides a vehicle to their employee for delivery of cannabis goods, the vehicle shall meet the following requirements:
(A) The vehicle is less than 10 model years old.
(B) The vehicle is in good working condition and has an up-to-date registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles to operate the vehicle with a clean title.
(C) The vehicle has no outstanding vehicle recalls, no major cracks or obstructions in its windshields, and has working headlights, taillights, and other required safety features.
(4) A licensed retailer shall provide access to healthcare benefits for all full-time delivery employees by providing a subsidy to allow employees to purchase health insurance through Covered California, access to group health insurance policies, or other methods.
(5) A licensed retailer that delivers cannabis goods shall maintain a hired and nonowned automobile insurance policy with a minimum limit of one million dollars ($1,000,000) per incident to cover third-party liability of deliveries of cannabis goods on the licensee’s behalf by an employee who uses their own vehicle for the deliveries.
(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Cannabis goods” means cannabis, cannabis products, or both.
(2) “Covered California” means the California Health Benefit Exchange, codified in Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code.
(3) “Licensed retailer” means a licensee that has been issued a retail license pursuant to this division, including a retailer, microbusiness, or nonprofit.
SEC. 3.
 The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers the purposes and intent of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act.