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Cannabis Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant – Phase II

Grantor:
Department of Cannabis Control
Portal ID:
49355
Status:
Active
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
 | 
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

Nearly two-thirds of California cities and counties do not allow the establishment of any regulated cannabis retailers within their jurisdictions. This limits consumer access to regulated, tested cannabis and cannabis products.

The Retail Access Grant provides local governments with resources to develop and implement cannabis retailer licensing programs. Up to $20 million total funding is available, distributed in two phases.

 

Description:

The Retail Access Grant provides local governments with resources to develop and implement cannabis retailer licensing programs. Up to $20 million total funding is available, distributed in two phases.

A local jurisdiction (city or county) is eligible for funding if it both:

Does not currently have a cannabis retail licensing program, andHas a plan to develop and implement a cannabis retail licensing programFunding can be used for:

Support of equity applicants and licenseesEnvironmental reviewsPermitting expensesPersonnel costs

By providing this assistance to cities and counties, the Retail Access Grant aims to:

Provide consumers with reliable access to regulated, tested cannabis;Reduce demand in the illicit market;Establish enough cannabis retail stores statewide to meet existing consumer demand.

Funding Rounds

Funding will be distributed in two phases:

Phase I: in June 2023, DCC announced awards of over $4 million in funding to 18 cities and counties to develop and implement local cannabis retail licensing programs. The Phase I application period closed on April 28, 2023. See the Phase I Grant Awards below.
Phase II: awards funding to eligible cities and counties based on the number of local cannabis retail licenses that they issue. The Phase II application period will open in October.Over $15 million in total funding is available in Phase II. 
An eligible jurisdiction may apply for funding in Phase II even if it did not participate in Phase I. 

Priority Funding

This grant program prioritizes funding to local jurisdictions that:

Propose to assist cannabis equity businesses;Address gaps in consumer access to safe and regulated cannabis;Plan to permit cannabis retailers through existing business permitting processes;

Local jurisdictions that meet these criteria will be eligible for priority points. Applications with priority points will be processed first.

 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Public Agency

Phase II of this program provides funding to eligible local governments based on the number of cannabis retail permits they issue. 

Subject to available funds, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) intends to award up to the following amounts per local license issued: 

$150,000 for each eligible cannabis retail license issued, or 
$300,000 for each eligible equity cannabis retail license issued. 
A maximum of $2 million per jurisdiction will be awarded in Phase II. 

Eligibility: Local jurisdictions (city, county, or city and county) that: 

Prior to July 1, 2022, did not have a cannabis retail licensing program in existence; 
Has a plan to develop and implement a cannabis retail licensing program; and 
Has issued one or more cannabis retail licenses to cannabis businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county pursuant to that program. 
Application Periods: Phase II applications will be accepted in the following months, subject to available funding: October 2023, March 2024, September 2024, March 2025, September 2025, March 2026. 

Eligible Geographies:

Local Jurisdictions in California.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
November 2023
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
Three years

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$20,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State

Funding Source Notes:

The grant program is authorized by the Budget Act of 2022, Item 1115-102-0001, found in Assembly Bill 178 (Ting, 2022).

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advances & Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

DCC will distribute the awarded Phase II funding directly to a local jurisdiction in a single
payment after the award process is completed and the local jurisdiction has entered into
the Grant Agreement. Approved Phase II funding awards will be processed for payment
in the months following the application periods. Phase II funding will be awarded until the
funds are exhausted. Payments will be made through the State Controller’s Office.
A local jurisdiction may apply for Phase II funding regardless of whether it received Phase
I funding. A local jurisdiction may not be awarded more than $2,000,000 for retailer
licenses issued in Phase II.

See Grant Guidelines for additional information. 

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Policy and Research Division, 1-844-612-2322, RetailAccessGrants@Cannabis.ca.gov

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