County approves fee for new cannabis businesses

New cannabis businesses operating outside of city limits in San Luis Obispo County will now be charged more than $3,900 for a license.

On September 13th, the Board of Supervisors approved changes to the County’s cannabis program, including approving a new required fee for licensed cannabis businesses operating in the unincorporated areas of the County. The new fee will take effect on October 14, 2022.

Every County cannabis business license will be required to pay a Cannabis Tax Compliance fee of $3,918 at the time of license issuance and each year at the time of license renewal. This fee is in addition to the required annual business license fee, which is currently $44 per new license and $34 per license renewal.

The Board also eliminated the previous California Cannabis Authority (CCA) fee. Cost recovery for the CCA is now included in the new Compliance fee. In addition to the CCA, the fee will fund a field audit program for cannabis businesses. This change in required fees is part of the Board’s direction to County departments that all costs of operating the cannabis program be recovered so that the cannabis program is not subsidized by the County General Fund and taxpayers.

In 2018, County voters approved measure B-18, which established the County’s Cannabis Business Tax (CBT). For Fiscal Year 2022-23, the CBT rate is 8% of gross receipts and is assessed on all cannabis business operations in the unincorporated areas of the County. The County’s CBT is not imposed within the limits of incorporated cities.

In addition to the new Cannabis Tax Compliance fee, the Board also approved changes to required cannabis fees administered by other County departments. For more information about the Board’s September 13th actions, please see the staff report and related documents.