The Monterey County Board of Supervisors joined San Luis Obispo County in adopting a Joint Powers Agreement to join the California Cannabis Authority, a Joint Powers Authority of county government backed by CSAC and the CSAC Finance Corporation. The California Cannabis Authority (CCA) will develop and manage a statewide data platform that will gather, collect, and analyze information from a myriad of data sources into one resource. The data will help local governments ensure cannabis regulatory compliance and also provide necessary information to financial institutions that wish to work with the cannabis industry.

The idea for CCA was borne out of CSAC’s work on the Treasurer’s Cannabis Banking Working Group, and our policy work on cannabis regulations. It became clear that there was a need for enhanced data for both regulatory and tax compliance, and detailed and real-time information for financial institutions that might be interested in working with cannabis clients.

Local governments can use the data platform to enhance their local cannabis programs to ensure that adequate tax payments are being made; assist local law enforcement and code enforcement officers with accurate and defensible information for speed of compliance; provide public health officials with product information and flow, and inform community planning efforts by understanding locations, concentrations and potential past or future land use patterns. In addition, the data platform can provide necessary information to financial institutions that wish work with the industry.

CCA, governed by a Board made of up of county officials, will develop and manage the data platform and work with other interested public entities to gather and share data.

CSAC is currently working with a number of interested counties, and would encourage any counties that are regulating and/or taxing cannabis to contact us. To learn more about the CCA, please contact Cara Martinson, CSAC Senior Legislative Representative & Federal Affairs Manager at (916) 650-8113, or cmartinson@counties.org or Alan Fernandes, CSAC Finance Corporation Executive Vice President at alan@csacfc.org, or (916) 650-8120.