Law and Legislation Committee Meeting - May 16, 2023: Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance and Lobbyist Code Revisions
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Law and Legislation Committee Meeting - May 16, 2023: Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance and Lobbyist Code Revisions
The Law and Legislation Committee of the Sacramento City Council met on May 16, 2023, at 9:15 AM. The meeting included a land acknowledgement, pledge of allegiance, roll call, and approval of the consent calendar. The committee then discussed two significant items: an ordinance amending the city’s cannabis cultivation code and a recommendation from the Ethics Commission to modernize the lobbyist registration and reporting code.
Consent Calendar
- Approved Minutes of April 18, 2023 (File ID 2023-00562)
- Law and Legislation Log (File ID 2022-02184) – with noted updates including consolidation of cannabis items and removal of items from former council members
- Legislative Advocacy Correspondence (File ID 2022-02231) – received and filed All consent items were approved unanimously.
Public Comments
No members of the public provided comment on either discussion item.
Discussion Items
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Item 4 – Ordinance Amending Chapter 8.132 on Cannabis Cultivation Staff presented an amendment to expand the prohibition on illegal cultivation from residential properties to vacant land and commercial properties. Councilmember Kaplan proposed two amendments: (1) striking the requirement that all cultivation must take place within a single room of a private residence, and (2) striking the prohibition on cannabis being visible from outside the room. Staff and Lieutenant Rob Young of the Sacramento Police Department argued that these provisions are critical for public safety, citing a decrease in home invasions and burglaries since the original ordinance was enacted. Vice Mayor Guerra and Vice Chair Jennings opposed the amendments, emphasizing the success of the current regulations. The committee voted 3-1 to forward the staff recommendation without Kaplan’s amendments to the full City Council. Councilmember Kaplan voted no, citing a need for data and a desire for less restrictive regulation.
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Item 5 – Sacramento Ethics Commission Recommendation on Lobbyist Code The City Clerk presented five recommendations from the Ethics Commission to update the 19-year-old lobbyist registration and reporting code. Recommendations included lowering registration thresholds, increasing disclosure, making data more accessible, limiting gifts to $10 per month, and extending the Commission’s scope to cover lobbyists. Committee members expressed support for modernizing the code but raised concerns about implementation costs and staff capacity. They directed staff to bring back draft amendments (option 3) for further review. The motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved unanimously.
- Item 4: Motion to forward the ordinance (as recommended by staff) to City Council passed 3-1.
- Item 5: Motion to direct staff to bring back draft amendments to the lobbyist ordinance passed unanimously.
- The committee adjourned at approximately 1:49 PM, with 11 minutes before the scheduled 2:00 PM council meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'd like to call this meeting of the law and legislation committee to order. Will the clerk please call the roll to establish a quorum? Councilmember Kaplan. Councilmember Jennings. We expect Councilmember Gera momentarily and Chair Valenzuela. I am here. Um Vice Chair Jennings, would you like to do the land acknowledgement and pledge of allegiance? Sure. Thank you. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nision people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains, Miwok, Pat Wynwinton, 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 land by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement, appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contribution, and lives. Thank you. Pledge of allegiance. Salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag. The United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Vice Chair Jennings. All right. So for members of public in the room, if you'd like to make public comment, um, I don't see, I only see staff in the room, but in case any of you were curious, you put the card in before the item public comment begins, and then you will be in the queue. Welcome, Vice Chair Garrett, our Vice Mayor Gera. Um, and if you're online, um please raise your hand at the beginning of the item. We will remove the raised hand feature once public comment begins. So, first items up are our consent calendar to make a brief comment on law and legislation log. You will see we did a little bit of tidying up. There are a couple of notes in there. Um the cannabis items have been consolidated and expanded upon so you understand a little bit more about what's coming on cannabis. And then we do have at least two items from council members who are no longer serving on the city council that we are proposing to remove. Um, so does anybody have any questions or comments about the consent calendar? Thank you. Second. All right. We have a move motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye, and any opposed or abstentions. That passes unanimously. Why thank you, Madam Clerk? Keeping us rolling along. All right. Our two discussion items today. The first one, item four, an ordinance relating to our city code relating to the cultivation of cannabis. We have Miss Davina here to discuss this item. Welcome. Thank you. Happy to be here today. Um, so I am Davina Smith, and I'm the cannabis program manager for the city of Sacramento in the Office of Cannabis Management. Um, with me, I believe, on the uh the remotely on the Zoom call is Lieutenant Rob Young and um analyst Lindsay Mendoza from the city's police department as well as um Audrey L.
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