AP16:083
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2016
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
New Measure Eligible for California's November 2016 Ballot
Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced that an initiative is eligible for the November 8, 2016, General Election ballot.
In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 365,880 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 General Election.
An initiative can qualify via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects a number of valid signatures greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 402,468 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold today.
On June 30, 2016, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 8, 2016 General Election ballot, unless the proponent withdraws the initiative prior to that date pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the initiative is as follows:
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes marijuana and hemp under state law. Designates state agencies to license and regulate marijuana industry. Imposes state excise tax on retail sales of marijuana equal to 15% of sales price, and state cultivation taxes on marijuana of $9.25 per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce of leaves. Exempts medical marijuana from some taxation. Establishes packaging, labeling, advertising, and marketing standards and restrictions for marijuana products. Allows local regulation and taxation of marijuana. Prohibits marketing and advertising marijuana to minors. Authorizes resentencing and destruction of records for prior marijuana convictions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net 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 potentially ranging from the high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually related to the production and sale of marijuana. Most of these funds would be required to be spent for specific purposes such as substance use disorder education, prevention, and treatment. (15-0103.)
The proponents of this initiative are Donald Lyman and Michael Sutton. The proponents can be reached c/o Lance H. Olson at (916) 442-2952.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/
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