TITLE
Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and any necessary documents including any subsequent amendments, with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), to receive and expend grant funding in the amount of $1,454,089, to support the Cannabis Equity Program, from April 1, 2023 to October 31, 2024; and
Increase appropriations in the General Grants Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $1,454,089, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to enter into an agreement with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) for a grant awarded to the Office of Cannabis Oversight (OCO) in the City Manager’s Office in the amount of $1,454,089 to support the Cannabis Equity Program. The grant award must be expended by October 31, 2024, in accordance with the GO-Biz grant guidelines.
In 2018, the Long Beach Cannabis Equity Program was established to support equitable opportunities in the local cannabis industry by making legal cannabis business ownership and employment opportunities more accessible to individuals negatively impacted by the prior criminalization of cannabis in Long Beach. This support includes access to resources such as direct technical assistance and grants, fee waivers, expedited application review, and cultivation tax deferrals.
GO-Biz, in accordance with the California Cannabis Equity Act, administers the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions to aid local equity program efforts to support equity applicants. Since 2019, a total of $90 million in grants have been awarded to local jurisdictions with an annual funding pool ranging from $15 million to $35 million. The City of Long Beach (City) has received a total of $7.2 million in grant awards from GO-Biz ranging from $1.2 million to $3.2 million annually. GO-Biz requires 80 percent of the City’s total grant...
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