Florida Senate - 2021 SB 710



By Senator Brandes





24-00271-21 2021710__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the availability of marijuana for
3 adult use; amending s. 212.08, F.S.; revising the
4 sales tax exemption for the sale of marijuana and
5 marijuana delivery devices to apply only to purchases
6 by qualified patients or caregivers; amending s.
7 381.986, F.S.; revising definitions; revising
8 provisions related to the licensure and functions of
9 medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs); requiring
10 the Department of Health to adopt by rule certain
11 standards and procedures; requiring the department to
12 adopt by rule a certain MMTC registration form;
13 specifying registration requirements; providing that a
14 registration expires after a specified time;
15 specifying that registration is not sufficient for
16 certain operations; requiring an MMTC to obtain
17 separate operating licenses for certain operations;
18 specifying application requirements for MMTCs to
19 obtain cultivation licenses and processing licenses;
20 providing for the expiration of and renewal of such
21 licenses; requiring an MMTC to obtain a facility
22 permit before cultivating or processing marijuana in
23 the facility; authorizing MMTCs licensed to cultivate
24 or process marijuana to use contractors to assist with
25 the cultivation and processing of marijuana under
26 certain conditions; requiring the contractors to
27 obtain facility permits and register principals and
28 employees; providing for the destruction of certain
29 marijuana byproducts within a specified timeframe
30 after their production; authorizing MMTCs licensed to
31 cultivate and process marijuana to wholesale marijuana
32 to other registered MMTCs under certain circumstances;
33 prohibiting an MMTC from transporting or delivering
34 marijuana outside of its property without a
35 transportation license; providing requirements for the
36 cultivation and the processing of marijuana; deleting
37 a requirement that each MMTC produce and make
38 available for purchase at least one low-THC cannabis
39 product; deleting certain tetrahydrocannabinol limits
40 for edibles; requiring an MMTC that holds a license
41 for processing to test marijuana before it is sold in
42 addition to when it is dispensed; deleting obsolete
43 language; revising marijuana packaging requirements;
44 providing application requirements for an MMTC to
45 obtain a retail license; providing for the expiration
46 and renewal of such licenses; requiring an MMTC to
47 obtain a facility permit before selling, dispensing,
48 or storing marijuana in the facility; requiring the
49 facility to cease certain operations under certain
50 circumstances; prohibiting a dispensing facility from
51 repackaging or modifying marijuana that has already
52 been packaged for sale, with certain exceptions;
53 authorizing a retail licensee to contract with an MMTC
54 that has a transportation license to transport
55 marijuana for the retail licensee under certain
56 circumstances; prohibiting onsite consumption or
57 administration of marijuana at a dispensing facility;
58 revising requirements for the dispensing of marijuana;
59 requiring a licensed retail MMTC to include specified
60 information on a label for marijuana or a marijuana
61 delivery device dispensed to a qualified patient or
62 caregiver; authorizing an MMTC to sell marijuana to an
63 adult 21 years of age or older under certain
64 circumstances; requiring MMTC employees to verify the
65 age of such buyers using specified methods;
66 prohibiting an MMTC from requesting or storing any
67 personal information of a buyer other than that needed
68 to verify the buyer’s age; deleting a provision
69 prohibiting an MMTC from dispensing or selling
70 specified products; providing application requirements
71 for an MMTC to obtain a transportation license;
72 providing marijuana transportation requirements;
73 prohibiting the transportation of marijuana on certain
74 properties; prohibiting the transportation of
75 marijuana in a vehicle that is not owned or leased by
76 a licensee or the licensee’s contractor and not
77 appropriately permitted by the department; providing a
78 process for the issuance and cancellation of vehicle
79 permits; requiring that each permitted vehicle be GPS
80 monitored; specifying that a permitted vehicle
81 transporting marijuana is subject to inspection and
82 search without a search warrant by specified persons;
83 authorizing an MMTC licensed to transport marijuana
84 and marijuana delivery devices to deliver or contract
85 for the delivery of marijuana to other MMTCs, to
86 qualified patients and caregivers within this state,
87 and to adults 21 years of age or older within this
88 state; establishing that a county or municipality may
89 not prohibit deliveries of marijuana and marijuana
90 delivery devices to qualified patients and caregivers
91 within the county or municipality; requiring an MMTC
92 delivering marijuana or a marijuana delivery device to
93 a qualified patient or his or her caregiver to verify
94 the identity of the qualified patient; requiring an
95 MMTC delivering marijuana to an adult 21 years of age
96 or older to verify his or her age; requiring the
97 department to adopt certain rules for the delivery of
98 marijuana; authorizing MMTCs to use contractors to
99 assist with the transportation of marijuana, but
100 providing that an MMTC is responsible for the actions
101 and operations of the contractor which are related to
102 the transportation of marijuana; requiring an MMTC to
103 know the location of all of its marijuana products at
104 all times; requiring principals and employees of a
105 contractor to register with the department and receive
106 an MMTC employee identification card before
107 participating in the operations of the MMTC; providing
108 for the permitting of cultivation, processing,
109 dispensing, and storage facilities; requiring the
110 department to adopt by rule a facility permit
111 application form; requiring the department to inspect
112 a facility before issuing a permit; requiring the
113 department to issue or deny a facility permit within a
114 specified timeframe; providing for the expiration of
115 facility permits; requiring the department to inspect
116 a facility for compliance before the renewal of a
117 facility permit; requiring an MMTC to cease applicable
118 operations if a facility’s permit expires or is
119 suspended or revoked; requiring cultivation facilities
120 and processing facilities to be insured with specified
121 hazard and liability insurance; providing cultivation
122 facility and processing facility requirements;
123 preempting to the state all matters regarding the
124 permitting and regulation of cultivation facilities
125 and processing facilities; requiring dispensing
126 facilities and storage facilities to be insured with
127 specified hazard and liability insurance; providing
128 dispensing facility and storage facility requirements;
129 clarifying that the governing body of a county or a
130 municipality may prohibit a dispensing facility from
131 being located in its jurisdiction or limit the number
132 of such facilities but may not prohibit a licensed
133 retail MMTC or its permitted storage facility from
134 being located in such county’s or municipality’s
135 jurisdiction if the MMTC is delivering marijuana to
136 qualified patients in that jurisdiction; prohibiting
137 the department from issuing a facility permit for a
138 dispensing facility in a county or municipality that
139 adopts a specified ordinance; authorizing a county or
140 municipality to levy a local tax on a dispensing
141 facility; providing that local ordinances may not
142 result in or provide for certain outcomes; authorizing
143 the department to adopt specified requirements by
144 rule; requiring the department to adopt rules to
145 administer the registration of certain MMTC
146 principals, employees, and contractors; requiring an
147 MMTC to apply to the department for the registration
148 of certain persons before hiring or contracting with
149 any such persons; requiring the department to adopt by
150 rule a registration form that includes specified
151 information; requiring the department to register
152 persons who satisfy specified conditions and issue
153 them MMTC employee identification cards; requiring a
154 registered person and the MMTC to update the
155 department within a specified timeframe if certain
156 information or the person’s employment status changes;
157 authorizing the department to contract with vendors to
158 issue MMTC employee identification cards; requiring
159 the department to inspect an MMTC and its facilities
160 upon receipt of a complaint and to inspect each
161 permitted facility at least biennially; authorizing
162 the department to conduct additional inspections of a
163 facility under certain circumstances; authorizing the
164 department to impose administrative penalties on an
165 MMTC for violating certain provisions; requiring the
166 department to refuse to renew an MMTC’s cultivation,
167 processing, retail, or transportation license under
168 certain circumstances; revising provisions related to
169 penalties and fees to conform to changes made by the
170 act; providing applicability; conforming provisions to
171 changes made by the act; creating s. 381.990, F.S.;
172 authorizing an adult 21 years of age or older to
173 purchase, possess, use, transport, or transfer to
174 another adult 21 years of age or older marijuana
175 products, marijuana in a form for smoking, and
176 marijuana delivery devices under certain
177 circumstances; providing that such marijuana products,
178 marijuana in a form for smoking, or marijuana delivery
179 devices must be purchased from an MMTC licensed by the
180 department for the retail sale of marijuana and
181 registered with the Department of Business and
182 Professional Regulation for sale of marijuana for
183 adult use; providing penalties; clarifying that a
184 private property owner may restrict the smoking or
185 vaping of marijuana on his or her property but may not
186 prevent his or her tenants from possessing or using
187 marijuana by other means; providing that certain
188 provisions do not exempt a person from prosecution for
189 a criminal offense related to impairment or
190 intoxication resulting from the use of marijuana and
191 do not relieve a person from any legal requirement to
192 submit to certain tests to detect the presence of a
193 controlled substance; requiring the Department of
194 Agriculture and Consumer Services to conduct a study
195 on the harms and benefits of allowing the cultivation
196 of marijuana by members of the public for private use,
197 including use of a specified model; requiring the
198 department to report the results of the study to the
199 Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;
200 amending s. 893.13, F.S.; authorizing a person 21
201 years of age or older to possess marijuana products in
202 a specified amount and to deliver marijuana products
203 to another person 21 years of age or older under
204 certain circumstances; providing criminal penalties
205 for the delivery or possession of marijuana products
206 by a person younger than 21 years of age under certain
207 circumstances; creating s. 893.1352, F.S.; providing
208 legislative intent; providing for the retroactive
209 applicability of s. 893.13, F.S.; requiring certain
210 sentences for specified offenses; requiring sentence
211 review hearings for individuals serving certain
212 sentences for specified crimes; providing resentencing
213 procedures; requiring the waiver of certain
214 conviction-related fines, fees, and costs under
215 certain circumstances; amending s. 893.147, F.S.;
216 authorizing a person 21 years of age or older to
217 possess, use, transport, or deliver, without
218 consideration, a marijuana delivery device to a person
219 21 years of age or older; providing criminal penalties
220 for a person younger than 21 years of age who
221 possesses, uses, transports, or delivers, without
222 consideration, a marijuana delivery device to a person
223 21 years of age or older; creating s. 943.0586, F.S.;
224 defining terms; authorizing an individual convicted of
225 certain crimes to petition the court for expunction of
226 his or her criminal history record under certain
227 circumstances; requiring the individual to first
228 obtain a certificate of eligibility from the
229 Department of Law Enforcement; requiring the
230 department to adopt rules establishing the procedures
231 for applying for and issuing such certificates;
232 requiring the department to issue a certificate under
233 certain circumstances; providing for the expiration of
234 and reapplication for the certificate; providing
235 requirements for the petition for expunction;
236 providing criminal penalties; providing for the
237 court’s authority over its own procedures, with an
238 exception; requiring the court to order the expunction
239 of a criminal history record under certain
240 circumstances; clarifying that expunction of certain
241 criminal history records does not affect eligibility
242 for expunction of other criminal history records;
243 providing procedures for processing expunction
244 petitions and orders; providing that a person granted
245 an expunction may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge
246 the underlying arrest or conviction, with exceptions;
247 providing that a person may not be deemed to have
248 committed perjury or otherwise held liable for giving
249 a false statement if he or she fails to recite or
250 acknowledge an expunged criminal history record;
251 amending s. 893.15, F.S.; conforming a provision to
252 changes made by the act; providing effective dates.
253
254 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
255
256 Section 1. Paragraph (l) of subsection (2) of section
257 212.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
258 212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
259 storage tax; specified exemptions.—The sale at retail, the
260 rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the
261 storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following
262 are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this
263 chapter.
264 (2) EXEMPTIONS; MEDICAL.—
265 (l) Marijuana and marijuana delivery devices, as defined in
266 s. 381.986, are exempt from the taxes imposed under this chapter
267 when they are purchased by a qualified patient or a caregiver,
268 as those terms are defined in s. 381.986.
269 Section 2. Paragraphs (d) through (h), (j), and (k) of
270 subsection (1), paragraph (b) of subsection (3), paragraph (f)
271 of subsection (4), paragraphs (a) and (f) of subsection (5),
272 paragraph (b) of subsection (6), subsections (8) through (12),
273 paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (e) of subsection (14), and
274 subsection (17) of section 381.986, Florida Statutes, are
275 amended to read:
276 381.986 Medical use of marijuana.—
277 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
278 (d) “Edibles” means commercially produced food it