A California bill to put a pause on a recently enacted tax hike on marijuana products is now heading to the governor after a final unanimous vote in the Assembly.
On Thursday, the Assembly voted 57-0 to concur with recent Senate changes to the legislation from Assemblymember Matt Haney (D), meaning it will go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk.
If signed into law, the bill would pause the tax increase for five years. The governor has until October 12 to take action on any measures delivered to him this session.
The legislation “will provide immediate tax relief to California’s struggling cannabis industry by reversing an unprecedented 25 percent excise tax increase,” Haney said on the Assembly floor on Thursday. “The bill has enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses.”
An amendment adopted during a prior Senate committee stop, and now concurred with by the Assembly, would make it so the effective date would be in October, rather than immediately. The tax hike itself officially took effect last month.
State officials announced in June that the cannabis excise tax rate would increase from 15 percent to 19 percent on July 1, and advocates held out hope that pending budget legislation
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