View Exhibitors at the end of this email.
November 18, 2020
I. Legalization of Marijuana Legislation Before Budget Committees
II. Live Chat with Over 145 Exhibitors Today!
Municipal Clerks: Please forward to your Mayor, Governing Body and Department Heads.
To assist in providing guidance and information we have created a COVID-19 resource page. We will continue to update the page as we get pertinent information and include announcements in our Daily Updates.
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I. Legalization of Marijuana Legislation Before Budget Committees
Tomorrow both the Senate Budget and Assembly Appropriations Committees will be considering A-21/S-21, the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act.” The legislation establishes the process for licensing and regulating cannabis.
The legislation does permit municipalities to enact a local option tax of 2% for cannabis growers, processors, and/or retailers and 1% for cannabis wholesalers. In addition, the municipality can enact ordinances that govern the times of operation, location, manner, number, and type of cannabis businesses in their municipality as well as establish civil penalties for ordinance violations.
The legislation provides municipalities with 180 days from enactment to adopt an ordinance prohibiting one or more types of cannabis businesses. Otherwise cannabis businesses would be considered permitted use in all industrial zones and the selling of cannabis would be considered a conditional use in all commercial and retail zones. If the municipality does not opt-out within the first 180 days, they must wait five years to adopt an ordinance to opt-out.
While this legislation includes impact zones, microbusinesses and allows for a local option tax, there are still outstanding issues that should be addressed. Issues such as permitting an opt-in instead of an opt-out, ongoing funding for Drug Recognition Enforcement, and clearly defining community approval.
It is mission-critical that the enabling legislation that permits the adult recreational use of cannabis has a strong foundation where municipal services and revenue are not adversely affected by this new industry.
For a more detailed overview of the legislation, please see our November 10 presentation.
Contacts:
II. Live Chat with Exhibitors Today!
Visit 145 Virtual Conference NJLM Exhibitors
Live Video Chat with exhibitors today, and each day of the conference between 8am-5pm. Exhibitor live chats are only available this week, providing you an opportunity to talk face-to-face just as you would at the League's in-person event each year.
Make sure you stop in to say hello, ask questions, and learn from their expertise in real-time.
Visit the full exhibit listing to view over 145 participating exhibitors.Exhibitors can be searched by name, category listing or the Logo Wall.