OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS

Legislative Office Building, Room 5200

Hartford, CT 06106 ¯ (860) 240-0200

http: //www.cga.ct.gov/ofa

SB-124

AN ACT CONCERNING THE MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA.

AMENDMENT

LCO No.: 6924

File Copy No.: 403

Senate Calendar No.: 326

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The Department of Public Health (DPH) will incur a potential cost to develop a reporting form, process physician filings regarding the nature of qualifying patients’ debilitating medical conditions and respond to inquiries from law enforcement agencies seeking to confirm a physician’s filing of the mandated information.

The exact cost would depend upon the volume of notifications submitted to the department, which cannot be determined at this time. However, if the number proves significant in magnitude the agency will require up to one additional half-time clerical staff, at an anualized cost of approximately $30, 800 (including fringe benefit costs) .

Section 4 (b) of the original bill allows the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP)  to establish a fee to cover administrative costs associated with Sections 1 to 9 of the bill. Collections are to be deposited into the Medical Marijuana Administration Account (MMAA) , with expenditures from the Account subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Therefore, costs incurred by the DPH in response to passage of the amendment could result in an offsetting revenue gain to the state if they are included in DCP’s calculation of the fee to be assessed on qualifying patients, as well as additional future funding for the DPH if the General Assembly approves appropriations from the MMAA for this purpose.

The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose.