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An Act To Clarify the Intent of the Licensing Provisions in the Marijuana Legalization Act
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §2448, sub-§1, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 5, §1, is amended to read:
 
1. State licensing authority may issue license; priority.   For the purpose of regulating the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale and testing of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products, the state licensing authority, in its discretion, upon receipt of an application in the prescribed form, may issue and grant to the applicant a license from one or more of the following classes, subject to the provisions and restrictions provided by this chapter:
 
A. Retail marijuana store license;
 
B. Retail marijuana cultivation facility license. Licenses issued pursuant to this paragraph must be issued in an equal number between the 2 types of retail marijuana cultivation facilities specified in section 2447, subsection 6;
 
C. Retail marijuana products manufacturing facility license;
 
D. Retail marijuana testing facility license;
 
E. Retail marijuana social club license; and
 
F. Occupational licenses and registrations for owners, managers, operators, employees, contractors and other support staff employed at, working in or having access to restricted access areas of the licensed premises, as determined by the state licensing authority.
 
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the state licensing authority, in issuing and granting a license pursuant to this chapter, shall give preference to an applicant who is a resident of this State or is organized or incorporated in this State.
Sec. 2. Effective date. This Act takes effect February 1, 2018.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Marijuana Legalization Act to require the state licensing authority, when issuing a license under the Act, to give preference to individuals who are residents of this State and to businesses that are organized or incorporated in this State. This bill also requires any licenses issued for retail marijuana cultivation facilities to be issued in an equal number between those facilities with 3,000 square feet or less of plant canopy and those with more than 3,000 square feet of plant canopy.