Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
MICA brief: repeal of local government cannabis aid, tax targets, and local sales‑tax moratorium status
Summary
MICA staff told county commissioners that the 2025 tax package repealed the local government cannabis aid created in 2023, imposed a combined $118M (current) / $190M (out‑biennium) target, and left the local sales‑tax moratorium expired as of 06/01/2025.
Nathan Jessen framed the 2025 tax agreement as a blend of tax changes and spending cuts driven by a significant projected out‑biennium deficit. He said the governor proposed and the final package included repeal of the 2023 local government cannabis aid (the provision that had reserved a portion of cannabis gross‑receipts tax revenue for counties and cities) and described the difficulty counties faced in defending a revenue stream that had not yet broadly flowed to local governments. “It was difficult to make the cost shift argument when we had started receiving funds,” Jessen said.
Jessen also reviewed other tax bill elements important to counties: a $118 million current‑biennium and $190 million out‑biennium fiscal target, modest changes to sales‑tax exemptions (including repeal of the electricity sales‑tax exemption on data‑center electricity), and the moratorium on local sales‑tax authority. He clarified that the moratorium technically expired 06/01/2025, but under current law local governments still must go to the legislature first to secure permission to put a local sales tax before voters.
