Business News
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday issued a consumer alert following the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency in counties across California due to severe winter storms causing flooding, mudslides, erosions, power outages and infrastructure damage.
The proclamation declared on Thursday applies to the counties of Amador, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma; and the proclamation declared on February 21 applies to the counties of Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, and Yolo.
Attorney General Becerra reminds all Californians that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396.
“Families throughout California are grappling with the significant damage caused by severe winter storms and atmospheric river storm systems. They should not have to worry about unscrupulous businesses trying to illegally cheat them out of fair prices,” said Becerra. “California’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food, and other essential supplies. I encourage anyone who has been the victim of price gouging, or who has information regarding potential price gouging, to immediately file a complaint through my Office’s website or call (800) 952-5225, or to contact their local police department or sheriff’s office.”
California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10 percent, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency.
This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials and gasoline.
The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business.
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, injunctive relief and mandatory restitution. The attorney general and local district attorneys can enforce the statute.
The proclamation declared on Thursday applies to the counties of Amador, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma; and the proclamation declared on February 21 applies to the counties of Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, and Yolo.
Attorney General Becerra reminds all Californians that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396.
“Families throughout California are grappling with the significant damage caused by severe winter storms and atmospheric river storm systems. They should not have to worry about unscrupulous businesses trying to illegally cheat them out of fair prices,” said Becerra. “California’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food, and other essential supplies. I encourage anyone who has been the victim of price gouging, or who has information regarding potential price gouging, to immediately file a complaint through my Office’s website or call (800) 952-5225, or to contact their local police department or sheriff’s office.”
California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10 percent, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency.
This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials and gasoline.
The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business.
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, injunctive relief and mandatory restitution. The attorney general and local district attorneys can enforce the statute.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SACRAMENTO – Currently, there are more than 10,000 temporary state cannabis licenses in the state system that will be expiring between now and the month of July 2019.
In March alone, more than 1,000 temporary growing licenses issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture are set to expire.
The state – under current law – has no ability to extend a temporary license, despite the fact thousands are set to expire.
To make matters worse, thousands of applicants who wanted to comply with the law and applied for a temporary license did so in the last quarter of 2018, leaving a massive backlog for the state regulating agencies.
As the temporary licenses come due, if the state can’t approve or deny an annual license prior to the temporary license expiring, the license holder – for example, the grower, farm, distributor or retailer – will no longer be operating legally and will be kicked into the black market.
“Bottom line is this: This bill will protect thousands of cannabis farmers, in particular, who did the right thing and applied for and secured a state license. But because their temporary license is about to expire, and because of the inability to extend their license due to existing state law, they could be forced into the black market. Obviously, this can’t stand which is why we’re moving quickly to keep a legal, regulated market here in California from collapsing,” Sen. Mike McGuire said.
“We have many folks in the cannabis industry who have worked hard to comply with new rules and requirements, and we have, from the start, experienced some growing pains as state and local governments have also worked hard to get their processes running smoothly,” said co-author Assemblymember Jim Wood. “This bill will provide some short-term relief to those who have submitted their annual license applications on time and allow the various state agencies to catch up with the volume of applications that have been submitted.”
This massive volume of temporary licenses creates the real risk that not all provisional annual license applications can be processed prior to temporary licenses expiring.
There are an estimated 10,000 temporary licenses expiring in 2019 – 23 today alone will go from legal to illicit, at no fault of their own. This is the worst way to transition a multibillion dollar agricultural market – which employs tens of thousands of Californians. Without legal licenses, there isn’t a legal, regulated market in California.
“We can’t afford to let good actors who want to comply with state law fall out of our regulated market just because timelines are too short and departments have been unable to process applications. Without legal licenses, there isn’t a legal, regulated market here in the Golden State,” Sen. McGuire said.
SB 67 will fix this. The bill allows the state to extend temporary licenses held by licensees while their annual application is being processed, so long as the annual application was submitted before the temporary license expired.
SB 67 will also improve the provisional annual license process in the state. It allows licensing authorities to do all in their power to convert temporary licenses to provisional annuals. SB 67 allows licensing authorities to grant provisional annuals to those without temporary licenses once the backlog of applications for those with temporary licenses is resolved. It also extends provisional licenses to July 1, 2020.
SB 67 creates a short-term solution to avoid an impending crisis. It requires any licensing authority who uses the extension authority to provide certain metrics – how many temporary licensees have submitted annual applications, how many have not, and how many temporary licenses have expired – to the legislature about how the provisional annual applications are being processed.
This reporting will allow the Legislature to continue the conversation about licensing through the 2019 legislative session.
SB 67 was approved in its first Senate committee today with an 8 to 0 vote in the Senate Business and Professions Committee.
In March alone, more than 1,000 temporary growing licenses issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture are set to expire.
The state – under current law – has no ability to extend a temporary license, despite the fact thousands are set to expire.
To make matters worse, thousands of applicants who wanted to comply with the law and applied for a temporary license did so in the last quarter of 2018, leaving a massive backlog for the state regulating agencies.
As the temporary licenses come due, if the state can’t approve or deny an annual license prior to the temporary license expiring, the license holder – for example, the grower, farm, distributor or retailer – will no longer be operating legally and will be kicked into the black market.
“Bottom line is this: This bill will protect thousands of cannabis farmers, in particular, who did the right thing and applied for and secured a state license. But because their temporary license is about to expire, and because of the inability to extend their license due to existing state law, they could be forced into the black market. Obviously, this can’t stand which is why we’re moving quickly to keep a legal, regulated market here in California from collapsing,” Sen. Mike McGuire said.
“We have many folks in the cannabis industry who have worked hard to comply with new rules and requirements, and we have, from the start, experienced some growing pains as state and local governments have also worked hard to get their processes running smoothly,” said co-author Assemblymember Jim Wood. “This bill will provide some short-term relief to those who have submitted their annual license applications on time and allow the various state agencies to catch up with the volume of applications that have been submitted.”
This massive volume of temporary licenses creates the real risk that not all provisional annual license applications can be processed prior to temporary licenses expiring.
There are an estimated 10,000 temporary licenses expiring in 2019 – 23 today alone will go from legal to illicit, at no fault of their own. This is the worst way to transition a multibillion dollar agricultural market – which employs tens of thousands of Californians. Without legal licenses, there isn’t a legal, regulated market in California.
“We can’t afford to let good actors who want to comply with state law fall out of our regulated market just because timelines are too short and departments have been unable to process applications. Without legal licenses, there isn’t a legal, regulated market here in the Golden State,” Sen. McGuire said.
SB 67 will fix this. The bill allows the state to extend temporary licenses held by licensees while their annual application is being processed, so long as the annual application was submitted before the temporary license expired.
SB 67 will also improve the provisional annual license process in the state. It allows licensing authorities to do all in their power to convert temporary licenses to provisional annuals. SB 67 allows licensing authorities to grant provisional annuals to those without temporary licenses once the backlog of applications for those with temporary licenses is resolved. It also extends provisional licenses to July 1, 2020.
SB 67 creates a short-term solution to avoid an impending crisis. It requires any licensing authority who uses the extension authority to provide certain metrics – how many temporary licensees have submitted annual applications, how many have not, and how many temporary licenses have expired – to the legislature about how the provisional annual applications are being processed.
This reporting will allow the Legislature to continue the conversation about licensing through the 2019 legislative session.
SB 67 was approved in its first Senate committee today with an 8 to 0 vote in the Senate Business and Professions Committee.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
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