Cannabis Outdoor Cultivation Measures

Section 1 of the act defines "cross-pollination", "licensed outdoor marijuana cultivation", "outdoor cultivation", "registered outdoor hemp cultivation", and "volunteer cannabis plant" in connection with the convening of a working group in section 2 to examine measures to minimize cross-pollination between cannabis plants, which working group is required to report its findings and recommendations on or before November 1, 2022, to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agricultural matters.

Section 4 requires the state licensing authority created to regulate and control the licensing of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and testing of regulated marijuana to convene a working group on or before November 1, 2021, to examine existing rules and tax laws that apply to the wholesale marijuana cultivation market to explore how the rules and laws could be amended to better position Colorado businesses to be competitive if marijuana is legalized federally. The working group is required to report its findings and recommendations to the executive director of the department of revenue and the general assembly on or before June 1, 2022.

Section 5 authorizes the state licensing authority to engage in rule-making on:

• The implementation, including the process, procedures, requirements, and restrictions, of contingency plans for outdoor marijuana cultivation facilities to ameliorate crop loss due to adverse weather; and
• Procedures for the conditional issuance of an employee license identification card.

Sections 6 and 7 authorize medical marijuana cultivation and retail marijuana cultivation facility licensees with outdoor cultivation facilities, starting January 1, 2022, to file with the state licensing authority a contingency plan for when there is a threat to operations due to an adverse weather event and, if approved, to follow the plan if there is an adverse weather event. The state licensing authority is required to notify a local licensing authority of its approval of a contingency plan and the local licensing authority may require that an applicant for a license include with the license application a contingency plan for the local licensing authority's review and approval.

Section 3 defines "adverse weather event" to mean damaging weather, such as drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind, or tornado, an adverse natural occurrence, such as an earthquake, wildfire, or a flood, or any additional adverse weather event or adverse natural occurrence that the state licensing authority defines by rule.

For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates:

• $104,780 from the industrial hemp registration program cash fund and the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of agriculture for agricultural services for the plant industry division and to purchase legal services, with $21,268 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services; and
• $279,194 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the specialized business group for marijuana enforcement and for the purchase of legal services, with $31,902 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)