Memorandum
Date: January 26, 2021
To: The Honorable Bruno Sabatier, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Carol J. Huchingson, County Administrative Officer
Subject: Consideration of Resolution Adopting a Lake County Cannabis Equity Assessment and Adopting the Lake Local Equity Program and Program Manual
Executive Summary: (include fiscal and staffing impact narrative):
On April 21, 2020, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development announced its intent to award a $150,000 Type I Funding grant to Lake County to fund the development of a cannabis equity program. The California Center for Rural Policy at Humboldt State University (CCRP) was selected by the County as the consultant to assist in this process.
The State requires that an independent Cannabis Equity Assessment (CEA) for Lake County be completed in order to create a Local Equity Plan (LEP). The stated goal of the CEA is to provide "a summary of that data and recommendations for a local equity program that will provide assistance to community members that experienced harm from decades of criminalization of cannabis and poverty and support their participation in the legal cannabis industry in Lake County." On December 8, 2020, your Board approved the CEA.
Last month, the State announced updated program criteria and the next round of funding becoming available, with a submittal deadline of February 1, 2021. In order to submit its Type II application and secure the state funding needed to implement the program, the LEP must be approved. This has required work on both the application and the LEP to proceed on an accelerated timeline. As the equity program develops in the future, jurisdictions can continue to update and adapt the LEP to meet changing needs.
The proposed Local Equity Plan and authorizing Resolution are attached for your consideration.
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