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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE |
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LD 1840 |
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LR 989(02) |
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An Act to Amend
the Maine Medical Use of Cannabis Act |
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Fiscal Note for
Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " " |
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Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs |
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Fiscal Note Required: Yes |
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Fiscal Note |
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FY 2025-26 |
FY 2026-27 |
Projections FY 2027-28 |
Projections FY 2028-29 |
Appropriations/Allocations |
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Other Special Revenue Funds |
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$1,157,721 |
$1,245,073 |
$1,290,421 |
$1,337,536 |
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Fiscal Detail
and Notes |
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This bill
prohibits the Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) within the Department of
Administrative and Financial Services from requiring registrants to make
attestations on registration and renewal forms regarding conduct authorized
under the Medical Use of Cannabis Act, except where explicitly authorized by
law. It expands the authorized venues where caregivers may sell or transfer
medical cannabis to include trade shows and other industry-related events.
The bill also requires annual reporting to include data on gross sales and
sales tax revenue from medical cannabis. |
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Under current
statute, OCP is required to issue or deny a completed registration
application within 30 days of receipt. OCP has indicated that the prohibition
on the use of attestations will require licensing staff to manually review
and verify certain information that was previously attested to by applicants.
OCP has indicated that this additional workload cannot be absorbed within
existing staffing, and additional staff would be required to ensure that
applications or renewals continue to be processed within statutorily required
deadlines. The bill includes ongoing Other Special Revenue Funds allocations
of $1,157,721 to OCP beginning in fiscal year 2025-26 for one OCP Chief
Licensing Investigator position, one Office Specialist I position and 8 OCP Licensing
Analyst positions and associated All Other costs. |
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In addition, OCP
has indicated that the bill’s provisions allowing sales and transfers of
cannabis at trade shows and other industry-related events may require
compliance staff to attend such events in person to assess regulatory
compliance. Because some of these events may occur outside normal business
hours, OCP anticipates a need for additional staffing to support after-hours
enforcement. Although the number of qualifying events is currently unknown,
if a significant number do occur, the agency has indicated it would require
additional allocations to fund one Field Investigator Supervisor, four
Compliance Inspectors, and associated costs. |
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