Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cannabis Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers hear industry-backed cleanup bill to clarify cannabis taxes and licensing
Summary
Senate Bill 74, described as a cleanup product of interim negotiations, would shift certain tax accounting to net sales, align manufacturing licenses with cultivation practice, and remove annual landlord letter burdens for license renewals; industry groups and the Cannabis Control Division supported the measure in committee testimony.
Senator Josh Kasmir introduced Senate Bill 74 to the House Business and Labor Committee as an Economic Affairs cleanup bill that reconciles tax treatment, licensing tiers and administrative details for the Montana cannabis industry. "They are being taxed on the gross sales even if they offer a discount," Kasmir said, explaining the measure would clarify taxation to apply to net sales in some circumstances and make other licensing rules more consistent.
Proponents representing industry groups, licensees and vendors described the bill as the result of about a year and a half of interim work among the industry, the Cannabis Control Division (CCD) and the Department of Revenue. Pepper Peterson of the Montana Cannabis Guild and Kate Halawa of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association asked the committee to support the bill as a reasonable fix to operational and tax confusion. Kate Halawa told the committee the bill fixes three main areas: (1) taxing net rather than gross in some situations, (2) reducing annual landlord-letter requirements for renewals, and (3) aligning manufacturing license (M) rules with cultivation license (C) rules.
Information witnesses from the Cannabis Control Division (Kristen Barber and Erin McCarthy) and the Department of Revenue (Fin McMichael) were present to answer operational and fiscal-note questions. The witnesses said the language in the draft reflects agency and industry discussions; Ms. Hensley, speaking for a licensed testing laboratory, described the collaborative process that led to clarifying changes.
Ending: The sponsor asked the committee for a do-pass recommendation; the committee did not record a final floor vote on SB 74 during this hearing.
