A legislative committee in Nebraska has advanced a sweeping tax bill that would, among other changes, impose a 30 percent sales tax on \u201cconsumable hemp\u201d and CBD products. The proposal, broadly aimed at providing property tax relief, will now be considered by the full legislature.<\/p>\n
On Monday, lawmakers on the Revenue Committee passed the bill, LB 34, on a 6\u20131 vote. The tax package combines various proposals that have been introduced during the state\u2019s special legislative session, called by Gov. Jim Pillen (R) last month to deal with the property tax issue.<\/p>\n
As approved by the committee, the bill would set a 30 percent sales tax on \u201cconsumable hemp products,\u201d defined as finished products that contain hemp and that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC. Hemp products made from stalks or seed\u2014that is, for fiber or food use\u2014would not be included in the definition, nor would pharmaceuticals approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n
Revenue Committee chair Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R), who has played a central role in the tax discussion, first introduced the 30 percent hemp tax two weeks ago<\/a>, in an earlier bill she sponsored. A separate proposal she introduced during the regular legislative session would have taxed consumable hemp and CBD at 100 percent<\/a>, a rate that was later reduced to 25 percent<\/a> before the underlying bill fizzled out<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 100% tax was unworkable for CBD companies in our state. They were concerned it would drive them out of business,\u201d Sen. Anna Wishart (D), who\u2019s backed past efforts to end marijuana prohibition in the state, told Marijuana Moment in an email at the time. \u201cIn talking with representatives from a group of CBD companies in the state, I worked with them and other senators to negotiate the tax down to 25%.\u201d<\/p>\n The rate is now at 30 percent in the bill<\/a> moving to the floor.<\/p>\n Other lawmakers, meanwhile, have used the property tax issue as a springboard to discuss broader cannabis legalization, which they say would bring in considerable state revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly speaking, what we really need to have a conversation about in our state, in the state of Nebraska, is our refusal to open ourselves up to other revenue streams,\u201d Sen. Terrell McKinney (D) said during floor debate earlier this year. \u201cOne revenue stream that we should open ourselves up to is the legalization of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a brain-drain issue,\u201d added Sen. Jen Day (D) at the time, \u201cand we refused to recognize that and address it from the other policy perspectives that caused the issues with brain drain\u2014one of those being the fact that we have chosen year after year after year not to legalize even medical cannabis in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThrough the end of 2022, states have reported a combined total of more than $15 billion in tax revenue from legal adult-use cannabis sales,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n Though Linehan is not the sponsor of the latest tax revenue bill, she told local media ahead of Tuesday\u2019s floor debate that she\u2019s feeling optimistic.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m confident we\u2019ve written the bill in a way that nobody\u2019s going to see less, and almost everybody\u2019s going to see more,\u201d Linehan told reporters, according<\/a> to Nebraska Examiner. \u201cI think we have a chance now to debate a bill.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuesday marked the first of three expected rounds of debate on LB 34.<\/p>\n The tax proposal comes as Nebraska, like other states across the country, witnesses an explosion of hemp-derived products, including intoxicating cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC. Late last year, the states\u2019s attorney general, Mike Hilgers (R), filed suit against retailers over the sale of delta-8 products<\/a>.<\/p>\n Neither medical nor adult-use cannabis are legal in Nebraska, though activists are hoping to change that, working to qualify two prospective medical cannabis initiatives for November\u2019s ballot.<\/p>\n As part of the special legislative session, lawmakers also held hearings this month on a pair of newly introduced adult-use marijuana legalization bills<\/a>\u2014LB 52 from Sen. Justin Wayne (D) and LB 71 from McKinney.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the standout features of\u00a0LB 71 is the potential to generate substantial tax revenue by legalizing marijuana and putting forth a well regulated tax framework,\u201d McKinney told colleagues. \u201cWe can provide tax relief in our state. This revenue can also be allocated in our educational systems, helping children receive the education they deserve, and into businesses and community development initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are back for a special session because property taxes are so bad that we need to come back for two, three weeks of the summer to figure this out, and everything\u2019s supposed to be put on the table,\u201d he continued, \u201cI don\u2019t see how we can sit here and say no and ignore the potential revenue of $100-plus million.\u201d<\/p>\n A fiscal note on McKinney\u2019s bill estimates the measure would bring in $18.9 million in fiscal year 2025, which would increase over time to an estimated $98.0 million in fiscal 2028. Annual state expenses for operations, meanwhile, are expected to start at $1 million annually and rise to $2.5 million by fiscal year 2028.<\/p>\n Opponents who spoke against the legalization proposals included representatives of law enforcement, the state\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and anti-cannabis advocates.<\/p>\n As for the voter initiatives, activists last month turned in what they hope will be more than enough signatures to qualify the measures<\/a>\u2014the third time the campaign has sought to let voters decide on the reform in recent years.<\/p>\n A recent poll by the campaign\u00a0found 70 percent support in the state for legalizing medical marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n Organizers at Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM)\u00a0have been petitioning for the change since July of last year<\/a>, about two months after\u00a0turning in a pair of complementary ballot proposals to the secretary of state\u2019s office<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor has already voiced opposition to the reform effort, saying last September that legalization \u201cposes demonstrated harms to our children,\u201d and that medical cannabis should only be accessible if its approved by FDA.<\/p>\n Late last year, NMM told Marijuana Moment that the governor\u2019s argument was a \u201ccop out,\u201d and she says the campaign will let voters decide for themselves.<\/p>\n One of NMM\u2019s earlier campaigns gathered enough signatures for ballot placement in 2020, but the\u00a0measure was invalidated by the state Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0following a single-subject challenge. Supporters then\u00a0came up short on signatures for revised petitions<\/a>\u00a0in 2022 due in large part to the loss of funding after one of their key donors died in a plane crash.<\/p>\n Nebraska lawmakers, including campaign co-chair Wishart, have also attempted to enact the reform legislatively, but cannabis bills have consistently stalled out in the conservative legislature.<\/p>\n Wishart\u2019s\u00a0medical cannabis bill received a hearing<\/a>\u00a0in the unicameral Judiciary Committee in February, but it did not advance. She attributed the inaction to changes in committee membership. An earlier version of the measure ultimately\u00a0stalled out in the GOP-controlled legislature<\/a>\u00a0amid a filibuster that supporters could not overcome.<\/p>\n California Hemp Retailers Tell Lawmakers That Governor-Backed Restrictions Bill Would Close Businesses And Shrink State Revenue<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Kimzy Nanney<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Nebraska Bill To Levy 30% Tax On Consumable Hemp Products Advances Out Of Committee<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A legislative committee in Nebraska has advanced a sweeping tax bill that would, among other changes, impose a 30 percent sales tax on \u201cconsumable hemp\u201d and CBD products. The proposal, broadly aimed at providing property tax relief, will now be considered by the full legislature. On Monday, lawmakers on theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77386,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77385\/revisions\/77386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\nRead More: Nebraska Bill To Levy 30% Tax On Consumable Hemp Products Advances Out Of Committee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"