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Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the proponents of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures.  

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. Retroactively legalizes, under state law, marijuana and hemp use, cultivation, possession, transportation, processing, distribution, and sale by persons 21 years and over. Creates commission to regulate and license marijuana industry. Bars commission from capping number of licensed businesses that grow less than 100 plants. Allows unlicensed cultivation for use, or sale at cost, of up to six plants per person. Applies general retail sales taxes to nonmedical marijuana sales. Permits additional taxes on nonmedical marijuana processing and sales totaling up to 30% of retail price. Allows certain local regulation, but not regulation inconsistent with measure’s policies. 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. (15-0017.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1682 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0017.  

The proponents for the measure, Heather L. Burke and Omar Figueroa, must collect 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 December 21, 2015.  The proponents can be reached at (916) 233-8769.

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