Nevada's Legislators have sponsored 12 bills during the 81st Session related to cannabis – from revising requirements and penalties to creating brand new ones. Which bills will go up in smoke and which ones will be smoked into the Nevada Revised Statutes? Time will tell, and that time is less than six weeks away. Almost one-third of all bills and resolutions submitted to date have failed to meet the first deadline of April 9, yet this collection is still moving forward.
Many of the Senate and Assembly bills (SB and AB) propose to modify the capabilities, responsibilities, and reach of the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB), while others propose to make smaller modifications to NRS Chapters 678A, B, C, and D governing cannabis in Nevada.
The Assembly is puffing through six bills that focus on independent testing laboratories, lowering penalties for cannabis- and alcohol-related first offenses, expanding licenses and regulations for cannabis consumption events, penalties for running an unlicensed cannabis establishment, and cannabis consumption lounges.
The Senate also has its share of high-flying proposals, including a new CCB staff position, reduced labeling requirements, health, and safety training for cannabis establishments' employees, expanding the number and type of retail cannabis licenses, expanding the excise tax, creating a new state-level account for school facility leasing and establishing regulations for cannabis equipment weights and measures.
The table that follows is a summary of the 12 cannabis-related bills for reference, including a designation for the Republican (R), or Democrat (D) party sponsor and the number of each. The collection of actual sponsors is lengthy and includes both parties plus two full Senate Committees. Exposure to a list that long could cause one to go up in smoke.
|
AB # |
Assembly Bill Description |
Sponsor(s) |
|
149 |
Will authorize an independent cannabis testing laboratory for filing complaints with the CCB regarding debts owed to a cannabis-related laboratory; will impose penalties for non-payment of debts to those labs; will require the CCB to maintain a database of cannabis lab test results. |
D - 3 |
|
158 |
Will revise the penalties for the first cannabis- or alcohol-related offense by someone under 21 years old by replacing the current jail time (up to 6 months) and varying fines (up to $1,000) with up to 100 hours of counseling/education/treatment programs instead. |
D – 19 R - 1 |
|
322 |
Will implement new CCB regulations, licensing requirements, and fees for two types of cannabis consumption events: “portable cannabis vendor events” and “temporary cannabis events”; will require a licensed cannabis event organizer for all events |
D - 8 |
|
326 |
Will impose penalties for operating a cannabis establishment without a license; will require cannabis establishments to include their license number in all advertising |
R - 1 |
|
341 |
Will implement new CCB regulations, licensing requirements and fees for two types of cannabis consumption lounges: a “retail cannabis consumption lounge” where product sampling can take place within a licensed retail cannabis establishment, and an “independent cannabis consumption lounge” where the consumption of cannabis or cannabis products would be allowed |
D - 1 |
|
SB # |
Senate Bill Description |
Sponsor(s) |
|
49 |
Will require the CCB to staff and conduct in-person disciplinary proceedings; will eliminate the required medical or adult-use designation on cannabis product labeling |
Health and Human Services Cmte. |
|
122 |
Will require employees of cannabis establishments to complete health and safety training; will require establishments to terminate any employees that do not complete the required training |
D - 2 |
|
168 |
Will prohibit the CCB and local governments from imposing packaging restrictions on cannabis products; will also require electronic record-keeping by cannabis establishments |
D - 5 |
|
235 |
Will expand the number of recreational and medical cannabis establishment licenses currently allowed per county; will eliminate dual-licensing for medical and recreational cannabis sales, combining them into one that can sell both medical and recreational products; will establish a process to allow medical-only cannabis establishment licenses to convert to a recreational license and sets fees for conversion |
D - 1 |
|
278 |
Will impose an excise tax of 15 percent on cannabis sales between the wholesale cultivators and retail establishments but will exempt transfers of cannabis between affiliated cannabis cultivation facilities from that tax. |
R - 1 |
|
343 |
Will establish requirements for lease agreements for school facilities needed to reduce class sizes; will authorize the board of trustees of a school district to enter into lease agreements for those facilities and require the revenues collected from excise taxes on the sale of cannabis and cannabis products to be deposited in a new Account for Improvements to Leased Property for expenses relating to the acquisition of the facilities. |
R - 4 |
|
404 |
Will require the state to adopt and enforce regulations for cannabis weighing and measuring equipment; will set fees for new annual equipment inspections; will impose penalties for equipment found out of compliance. |
Finance Cmte. |
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