Committee approves fee revisions study, asks reports and pauses 2025 cannabis retail lottery

The Government Operations Committee voted on June 3 to amend Los Angeles Municipal Code fee and fine provisions for commercial cannabis regulation and to direct multiple follow-ups, including a report on the feasibility of exempting social equity applicants from proposed fee increases. The committee also instructed the Department of Cannabis Regulation to pause any Phase 3 retail license lottery scheduled for 2025.

The committee’s action follows public comments from licensed and prospective cannabis operators who urged a pause in license lotteries and criticized the city’s fee and enforcement practices. Council member Padilla moved the fee ordinance amendment as amended; Council member Lee recorded the first vote on the motion to pause the lottery and Padilla seconded. The committee approved the package by roll call.

Why it matters: DCR’s fee study is intended to align license and enforcement fees with the department’s full-cost recovery mandate, but many social equity applicants and licensed operators told the committee that the current tax and fee structure and ongoing unlicensed market activity are undermining licensed businesses. The committee’s instructions seek both immediate relief (pausing a license lottery) and a series of reports to clarify costs, timelines and potential subsidies for social equity participants.

Several social equity and licensed-operator speakers told the committee the city should halt expansion until core problems are addressed. “I urge the city council to pause the lottery for 2025 of any new cannabis licenses until critical issues with the current social equity program are addressed,” said Alexis Luna Reyes, identifying herself as owner and operator of JC Rad, a social equity cannabis business in District 14. Damian Martin, co-founder and attorney for…