CA\DD\03000.25506\10268999.1
CITY OF CORONA
COMMERCIAL CANNABIS BUSINESS TAX
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE _____
Since California voters legalized recreational cannabis use in 2016, over 150 local jurisdictions have passed cannabis tax measures for the privilege of operating within their jurisdictions. In 2020, Corona began regulating cannabis retail stores, manufacturing facilities, distribution activities, and testing laboratories, and some are currently navigating the City and state permit processes and should be operating soon.
Measure _____ will benefit all City residents by ensuring cannabis businesses contribute fairly to costs associated with their regulatory requirements, as well as necessary code enforcement and police responses, without hurting City investments that maintain a quality of life for our residents. The City has invested significantly to address community priorities, such as economic development, homelessness, graffiti, police protection, and sound financial planning. The estimated $5M in tax revenue from Measure _____ will help secure those priority investments for decades to come.
Measure _____ includes a unique provision intended to protect critical City resources - a higher tax on illegal cannabis businesses. Not only will the City use tools at our disposal to shut down illegal businesses, but we will also use our tax collection powers to make illegal operators reimburse us for those efforts. We believe this will help reduce illegal businesses, which damage our legitimate businesses and place a strain on limited City resources.
Whether or not you agree with the legalization of cannabis, it is critical that Measure _____ passes to generate the resources necessary to ensure compliance with complex legal requirements and avoid burdening other City programs and services.
If Measure _____ is adopted, it will replace any operational fees the businesses have contractually agreed to pay, and all funds will stay local - in Corona - to support our programs and services, with no monies going to Sacramento.
Please join us in voting “Yes” on Measure _____.
___________________________________ ___________________________________ Wes Speake Tony Daddario
Mayor (District 5) Vice Mayor (District 2)
___________________________________ ___________________________________ Jacque Casillas Tom Richins
Council Member (District 1) Council Member (District 3) ___________________________________
Jim Steiner
Council Member (District 4)
PROPOSED ARGUMENT
IN FAVOR (08-17-22)