HB 551 Summary

• Creates licensing and registration fees for various cannabis business types, including early approval adult use dispensing organizations ($30,000), conditional licenses ($5,000-$60,000), and cultivation centers ($100,000), with fees also established for agents and other license types.

• Imposes a 7% excise tax on cultivators' gross receipts from first sales of cannabis beginning January 1, 2023, with cultivators required to register with the Department of Revenue and file monthly returns.

• Imposes a tiered excise tax on cannabis purchases beginning January 1, 2023: 10% on cannabis with adjusted THC levels at or below 35%, 25% on cannabis above 35% THC, and 20% on cannabis-infused products; tax collected by retailers and remitted monthly.

• Exempts medical cannabis purchases by registered patients from the excise tax and establishes recordkeeping requirements for retailers, with penalties including third-degree felonies for fraudulent returns and civil violations up to $5,000 for recordkeeping failures.

• Directs cultivation tax revenue to the Alcoholic Beverage, Marijuana, and Tobacco Trust Fund and purchaser excise tax revenue to the Cannabis Regulation Fund; contingent effective date tied to passage of HB 549 or similar legislation.