Title
Grant: Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) Cannabis Equity Grant for Local Jurisdictions
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FileID
File ID: 2025-00632
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution authorizing the Interim City Manager, or designee to: 1) execute any and all necessary documentation, including a standard agreement to accept the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) Cannabis Equity Grant for Local Jurisdictions in the amount of $1,680,777.31; and 2) establish the revenue and expenditure budgets for the GO-Biz Cannabis Equity Grant project (G02420800).
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Contact
Contact: Peter Coletto, Director of Finance, (916) 808-5416, pcoletto@cityofsacramento.org, Department of Finance; Lindsay Brown, Administrative Officer, (916) 808-5931, lkbrown@cityofsacramento.org, Office of Cannabis Management
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Exhibit A - GO-Biz Equity Grant Award Letter
Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: GO-Biz appropriated $15 million in grant funds to qualifying jurisdictions that demonstrate an intent to develop a cannabis equity program or that has adopted and operates a cannabis equity program. The GO-Biz social equity grant focuses on the inclusion and support of individuals in California’s legal cannabis marketplace who are from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization. The grant funds are intended to reduce barriers for entrance into the legal cannabis industry for social equity community members.
The City qualified for this grant due to Council’s establishment of the Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity (CORE) program on August 9, 2018 (Resolution 2018-0323). The CORE program is intended to reduce the barriers of entry into cannabis businesses for a current or former resident of the city who previously resided in or currently resides in a low-income household and either: a) has been arrested for or convicted of a cannabis-related crimes between 1980 and 2011, b) is an immediate family member of such a person, or c) has lived in certain zip codes for at least 5 years during that timeframe.
On December 16, 2024, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) applied for these grant funds as Type 2: Assistance for Equity Program Applicants and Licensees. OCM was notified by GO-Biz on January 23, 2025, that the City would be awarded $1,681,777.31 in grant funds with a stipulation for $750,000 in matching funds. Per the grant guidelines, funds must be expended within one year from disbursement.
Accordingly, the GO-Biz grant funds will be used to support a grant program to assist local cannabis equity participants to enter and operate in the regulated cannabis marketplace. There continues to be a large gap between CORE participants and CORE applicants and cannabis business permitees. This is attributable in great part to the capital-intensive requirements to enter the regulated cannabis marketplace and the lack of generational wealth experienced by most CORE participants.
Attached is the resolution that includes the State-mandated language authorizing the City Manager, or City Manager’s designee to execute all necessary documents to accept the GO-Biz grant funds (Attachment 2).
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: The recommendations in this report are consistent with Council Resolution 2021-0198, Section 11, which requires Council approval to accept grant funding, to establish a grant project, and to appropriate funding when the grant award is $250,000 or more, and when such action is required by a grantor. In addition, to accept the grant, GO-Biz requires that the local agency enter into a standard agreement with GO-Biz and obtain a resolution authorizing the local jurisdiction to enter into the standard agreement and designating by title the individual authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the local jurisdiction.
On March 19, 2024, Council approved agenda item 2024-00701 authorizing the City Manager, or the City Manager’s designee to execute the application and subsequent agreement for the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) Cannabis Equity Grant for Local Jurisdictions in the amount of $2 million.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): This action concerns administrative and professional activities that will not have a significant impact on the environment, and therefore, does not constitute a “project” as defined by the CEQA Guidelines, per Sections 15061 (b)(3) and 15378(b)(2).
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not applicable.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The GO-Biz grant funds will allow the City to continue its grant program that CORE program participants can utilize to fund start-up costs associated with securing a location and other expenses incurred when establishing a cannabis business.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The State grant program requires a local match of $750,000. Existing resources in the City’s CORE Multi-Year Operating Project qualify as local match and will be transferred to a new grant project for this program. The framework for this grant program is similar to the FY2023/24 Go-Biz cannabis grant. Approval of this item would establish a new grant project with a revenue and expenditure budget of $2,430,777.31 and support the City’s goal of reducing barriers to entry into the legal, regulated cannabis industry for social equity community members.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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