Ahead of yesterday’s break for Summer Recess, California lawmakers moved several cannabis and hemp bills through the policy committees of the Assembly and Senate toward the next stage in the legislative process. While AB 564 (Haney) continues to draw the most attention, other bills include legislation: to integrate hemp products into the state-regulated regime under the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, to give local governments new tools to enforce penalties for unlicensed cannabis activities, and to regulate online marketplaces for cannabis and hemp products. After a similar Assembly bill failed to pass last legislative session, AB 8 (Aguiar-Curry), which would add industrial hemp products into the cannabis excise tax base, has now passed out of the Senate Revenue & Tax Committee and all the way back to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the previous similar bill stalled last year. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered AB 632 (Hart), which would give local governments the ability to obtain an enforceable judgment for administrative fines for violations of cannabis ordinances and to collect fines or penalties imposed administratively through the placement of a lien on the parcel of land on which the violation occurred, and passed the bill out of committee on a divided vote. On the same day, the Assembly Judiciary Committee heard testimony to consider SB 378 (Wiener), which would make online cannabis and hemp marketplaces strictly liable for damages and require online sellers to create a reporting system enabling people to flag an unlicensed product or seller, and passed the bill onto the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Regarding SB 378, on behalf of a coalition of hemp wellness product manufacturers, I testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, and you can watch that testimony at this link or see the entire hearing on the bill (beginning at 1:05:55) by clicking the Video link in the 07/15/2025 Assembly Judiciary Committee row of the California State Assembly Media Archive page. The California Legislature will reconvene on August 18 when all of these bills will continue to race toward the September 12 end of the 2025 Legislative Session.
