SACRAMENTO State Sen. Hannah Beth-Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, announced her opposition to AB 97, the cannabis trailer budget bill, in a news release on Monday.
Ms. Jackson’s chief opposition comes from what she sees an “absence of adequate oversight and enforcement” and that cannabis cultivation is “encroaching on our communities, schools, public spaces, vital agricultural industries, our tourism economy and our quality of life in Santa Barbara County.”
“Many of us who work in state government feel the frustrations of the very limited authority granted to us under Proposition 64 to help residents experiencing the outsized burden of cannabis cultivation,” Ms. Jackson said in the news release. “However, one lever we do possess at the state level is through the granting of licenses to growers. I had hoped that this trailer bill language might be better refined to help us get at bad actors, ensure adequate environmental review, and provide greater safeguards. Unfortunately, those changes were not made, and for that reason, I am not able to support this legislation.”
The bill was passed by the Assembly in April on a 54-13 vote, according to the California Legislative Information website.
The California Senate voted on the bill on Monday, according to the news release.
