On Monday, June 17, Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 218 (“SB 218”) into law. See our earlier blog post regarding this bill. SB 218 authorizes the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”) to cap new recreational cannabis producer licenses based on its assessment of supply and demand in Oregon.
There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation out there regarding what SB 218 means, so please read on to get some clarity on the issue.
Pending Producer Applications. Because SB 218 is now law, OLCC will not allow changes in ownership greater than 51% and will not allow changes of premises location for pending submitted producer applications. An easy way to confirm whether you fall into this group is by checking the status on your OLCC dashboard. If your status is “New,” “Local Government Review,” or “Applicant Hold,” you have a pending producer application and cannot request the above changes to your application.
Existing Production Licenses. Existing production licenses are not affected. So, if you have an existing production license, you may still apply for a 51%+ change of ownership or a change of location.
Producer Applications in on or Before June 15, 2018. OLCC must process producer applications received on or before June 15, 2018. However, if you submitted your producer application on or before June 15, 2018 without an approved Land Use Compatibility Statement (“LUCS”), you have 21 days from June 17 to submit an approved LUCS. If you do not submit an approved LUCS within 21 days, OLCC will inactivate your application.
Post-June 15, 2018 Applications. OLCC will inactivate all producer applications received after June 15, 2018. It is unclear whether OLCC will refund the $250 application fee.
Producer License Renewal Applications. SB 218 does not affect your ability to renew your existing producer license.
Duration of Moratorium. This is entirely within OLCC’s discretion, based on the supply of and demand for cannabis in Oregon. From the Act: “[OLCC] may . . . refuse to issue production licenses . . . for an amount of time that the commission determines necessary.”
If you need further information or assistance regarding SB 218, or have any other licensing or compliance needs, please do not hesitate to contact us.
