California Offers License Fee Deferrals to Additional Licensees

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 29, 2020 -PRESS RELEASE- The three state cannabis licensing authorities of California announced today that businesses with state commercial cannabis licenses expiring between July 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020 may request 60-day deferrals of their license fee payments. This allows for fee deferral financial assistance to be provided to additional licensees.

The license fee deferrals are intended to provide immediate financial assistance to state cannabis licensees impacted by COVID-19. Though deemed an “essential business” under Executive Order N-33-20, the cannabis industry is excluded from federal or banking-dependent assistance for small businesses, due to cannabis’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance federally.

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“We hope that today’s announcement will provide assistance to the industry as we continue to work together to address the challenges created by the pandemic,” said Lori Ajax, chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control.

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are currently accepting requests for fee deferrals. Refunds will not be given for fees that have already been paid. Additional fee deferrals are not available for licenses that expired before July 1, 2020. License fee payment due dates for fee deferrals already granted are not extended.

A licensee who is unable to comply with a licensing requirement due to the pandemic may submit a disaster relief request to their respective licensing authority. To provide immediate assistance to licensees, licensing authorities have been providing relief from certain regulatory provisions unrelated to fees since the time of the first stay-at-home orders.