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Record of Proceedings

Law and Legislation Committee Special Meeting – May 10, 2022

Law and Legislation Committee — Tuesday, May 10, 2022
BodySacramento, California
SessionLaw and Legislation Committee
DateTuesday, May 10, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:14

Chair staff is ready when you are.

0:17

Let's go.

0:20

Okay, I'd like to call this meeting of the law and legislation committee to order.

0:25

Please call the role to establish a quorum.

0:27

And my apologies for being a little bit late here.

0:30

Thank you.

0:30

Councilmember Getta.

0:32

Hi.

0:33

Council Member.

0:34

Councilmember Harris.

0:35

Here.

0:36

Councilmember Valenzuela.

0:38

Here.

0:38

And Chair Shaneer.

0:40

I and here.

0:41

I'll give them both.

0:44

Councilmember Valenzuela, do you want to lead us in the land and pledge, please?

0:50

Sure.

0:51

Well, thank you, Chair.

0:53

So Kirk puts that up on the screen.

0:55

Please rise for the opening acknowledgement in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands.

1:01

So the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains, Miwok, Hutland Winton Peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe.

1:12

May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgment and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history, contributions, and lives.

1:27

Thank you.

1:27

Now please salute and pledge.

1:30

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

1:37

One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:42

Thank you, Chair.

1:43

Thank you, Councilwoman.

1:44

Appreciate that.

1:45

Let's go to our agenda.

1:47

I believe we have the log.

1:49

I'm sorry, I don't have my agenda open.

1:51

Is that correct, madam?

1:53

Yes, on your consent calendar, you have one item, which is the law and legislation log.

1:58

Okay, any comments on the law and legislation log?

2:01

Yeah, Jay, um, I have a comment.

2:03

Sure.

2:04

So on the log is my request to bring back the uh sidewalk ordinance, which needs some cleanup.

2:10

I've got a lot of issues with sidewalk obstruction.

2:13

So I'd like staff to bring that back as soon as possible, please.

2:17

And with that, I'd uh move consent.

2:20

Okay, thank you.

2:21

Is there a second second?

2:25

All right.

2:26

Well, we'll have three seconds on that, so that would be a sixth.

2:29

Um let's go ahead and call the roll.

2:32

Thank you.

2:32

That was a motion by council member Harris and a second by council member Valenzuela.

2:36

Councilmember Getta.

2:39

Council Member Harris.

2:40

Aye.

2:41

Councilmember Valenzuela.

2:43

Yes, and Chair Shaneer.

2:46

Aye.

2:47

Okay.

2:48

All right, let's go to our uh one item here, which is policy recommendations on ownership, land use, and economic fiscal issues around the cannabis industry.

2:59

Um, the way we're first of all, I want to thank my colleagues and all those who have participated in the three hearings that we've had today.

3:06

Uh, I think they've been really thoughtful discussions.

3:09

We're not at the end of this, and I'm sure that over time we will continue to tweak these ordinances and regulations and even put potentially the charter.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cannabis Regulation█████████████████████████████████████████████74%
Procedural█████8%
Economic Development████6%
Public Comments██4%
Land Use Planning██4%
Public Health█2%
Budget and Finance█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Law and Legislation Committee Special Meeting – May 10, 2022

The Sacramento Law and Legislation Committee held a special meeting on May 10, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:29 p.m. via teleconference. The committee conducted the fourth and final workshop as part of the Sacramento Comprehensive Cannabis Study, focusing on policy recommendations on ownership, land use, and economic/fiscal issues. After receiving extensive public testimony, the committee voted unanimously to forward a package of recommendations to the full City Council.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 1 – Law and Legislation Log: The committee unanimously approved the log, which included a request from Councilmember Harris to bring back the sidewalk ordinance for cleanup.

Public Comments & Testimony

The committee heard from 12 speakers during the public comment period on Item 2. Speakers included industry representatives, public health advocates, and community members. Key positions expressed included:

  • Shannon Horn (CEO of Upwork Farm) and Malakai Sakou (Institute for More) urged the committee to prioritize core participant businesses, calling for 25% of city cannabis tax revenues to go to core grants, extension of deadlines for core dispensaries, and incentives for existing dispensaries to carry core products. They noted that less than 8% of licenses have gone to core participants despite a policy commitment of 50%.
  • Dr. Lynn Silver (Public Health Institute) thanked the committee for dropping on-site consumption lounges, and expressed concerns about health impacts of increased cannabis availability. She recommended no more than one dispensary per 19,000 residents and opposed lifting delivery caps.
  • Kevin Hooks echoed the need for direct funding and core support.
  • Kimberly Cargyle (Therapeutic Alternative) supported staff recommendations and urged removal of parks and churches from sensitive uses, and supported a tax structure ballot measure.
  • Zion Tadesa (Queen Sheba’s) called for 25% tax revenue for core, additional storefront licenses, and on-site consumption for core.
  • Joseph Devlin (Northern California Cannabis Alliance) argued for less regulation, recommending the state’s framework for ownership transfers and warning that additional requirements harm small businesses.
  • Mindy Galloway urged reduced tax rates and tax credits for small and core businesses.
  • Diana Garcia supported the ballot measure for taxation and equal treatment for core.
  • Barry Boyd proposed ownership caps of 25% for multiple owners and called for addressing tax collection issues from the auditor’s report.
  • Jan Thurston spoke on behalf of small businesses.
  • Kevin McCarty (former Assemblymember, not specified) generally supported the direction and called for a more open industry, streamlined self-reporting, and progressive tax brackets.

Discussion Items

The committee reviewed the staff presentation by Davina Smith (Cannabis Manager) covering three policy areas:

Ownership (Recommendations 1–5):

  • Staff recommended a modified state model for ownership transfers (Option B2): transfers of less than 100% are allowed with continuity; 100% transfers require a new application. Transfers limited to once per six years.
  • For the “one person, one storefront” rule, staff recommended allowing up to 20% ownership in an unlimited number of storefronts (Option B).
  • Franchise operators: staff recommended requiring identification and limiting to one franchise per operator (Option B1).
  • Ownership definition and tracking: adopt a modified state definition with added categories (e.g., board members, managers) and require 100% ownership disclosure with penalties for false reporting.

Land Use (Recommendations 6–8):

  • Refer to Planning and Design Commission for review of zoning and sensitive uses, including consideration of allowing cannabis in RMX/C3 zones and limiting sensitive uses to schools, youth centers, and drug/alcohol treatment centers. Committee added direction to consider neighborhood park definitions and added faith-based institutions for review (though Councilmember Valenzuela expressed opposition).
  • Include review of mixed-light greenhouses in industrial areas (Councilmember Guerra).
  • Allow district-based caps on delivery-only dispensaries to expire and remove distribution from square footage caps.
  • Support state legislation allowing shared premises beyond manufacturing, with attention to security and accountability.

Economic/Fiscal Issues (Recommendation 9):

  • Monitor tax-related legislation and regional tax rates; take steps to enable flexible responses.
  • Councilmember Schenirer proposed a ballot measure (for November) that would allow the council to set tax rates up to 4% for each sector, enabling different rates for manufacturing, distribution, retail, etc.
  • Councilmember Guerra added that equity elements should be included.
  • Chair Schenirer also raised the possibility of a graduated tax rate based on business size, and asked staff to explore it.

Items for Future Consideration: The committee noted several topics still under development, including the core equity study (to be completed before a comprehensive equity plan), odor enforcement, security requirements, and a potential city surplus property inventory for cannabis. Councilmember Valenzuela expressed interest in consumption lounges and indicated she would add it to the legislative log.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion (Guerra/Valenzuela): The committee voted 4‑0 to forward the package of recommendations (as amended during discussion) to the full City Council for consideration.
  • The package includes all staff recommendations modified by committee input, plus direction to the Planning and Design Commission to review zoning and sensitive uses with committee comments.
  • The committee also requested that staff provide responses to public comments in the council presentation.
  • Next step: The Cannabis Manager will present the recommendations to the City Council at a future meeting (target May 24, 2022).

Meeting Transcript

Chair staff is ready when you are. Let's go. Okay, I'd like to call this meeting of the law and legislation committee to order. Please call the role to establish a quorum. And my apologies for being a little bit late here. Thank you. Councilmember Getta. Hi. Council Member. Councilmember Harris. Here. Councilmember Valenzuela. Here. And Chair Shaneer. I and here. I'll give them both. Councilmember Valenzuela, do you want to lead us in the land and pledge, please? Sure. Well, thank you, Chair. So Kirk puts that up on the screen. Please rise for the opening acknowledgement in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. So the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains, Miwok, Hutland Winton Peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgment and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history, contributions, and lives. Thank you. Now please salute and pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Councilwoman. Appreciate that. Let's go to our agenda. I believe we have the log. I'm sorry, I don't have my agenda open. Is that correct, madam? Yes, on your consent calendar, you have one item, which is the law and legislation log. Okay, any comments on the law and legislation log? Yeah, Jay, um, I have a comment. Sure. So on the log is my request to bring back the uh sidewalk ordinance, which needs some cleanup. I've got a lot of issues with sidewalk obstruction. So I'd like staff to bring that back as soon as possible, please. And with that, I'd uh move consent. Okay, thank you. Is there a second second? All right. Well, we'll have three seconds on that, so that would be a sixth. Um let's go ahead and call the roll. Thank you. That was a motion by council member Harris and a second by council member Valenzuela. Councilmember Getta.

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