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Committee approves amendment allowing Office of Cannabis to perform conviction-history reviews for permits
Summary
The committee approved amendments to clarify that the Office of Cannabis may access conviction-history information necessary to perform local permit and licensing duties and to reconcile equity-incubator employment rules with the Fair Chance Ordinance.
The Rules Committee voted to forward an ordinance amending Article 16 of the administrative code so the Office of Cannabis can receive conviction-history information needed to evaluate cannabis permit applicants and to reconcile equity-incubator provisions with the Fair Chance Ordinance.
Nicole Elliott, director of the Office of Cannabis, told the committee the amendments clarify intent and respond to California Department of Justice guidance that the original Article 16 language did not explicitly authorize local access to criminal-history information. Elliott said the changes were intended to allow local review "to ensure that owners receive their conviction history review on the front end" and to permit limited inquiries about decriminalized convictions when necessary to meet equity-employment commitments.
Deputy City Attorney Andrew Chen confirmed the amendments are non-substantive clarifications for the record. The committee approved the amendment and forwarded the ordinance with a positive recommendation to the full Board.
