§ 3.05.040. Definitions.

The following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below when used in this chapter:

Auditor-controller-treasurer-tax collector means the auditor-controller-treasurer-tax collector of the County of San Luis Obispo, his or her deputies or any other county officer charged with the administration of the provisions of this chapter. If the consolidated offices are ever separated or becomes an appointed position then the treasurer-tax collector or finance director will be charged with the administration of the provisions of this chapter.

Business shall include all activities engaged in or caused to be engaged in within the unincorporated area of the county, including any commercial or industrial enterprise, trade, profession, occupation, vocation, calling, or livelihood, whether or not carried on for gain or profit, but shall not include the services rendered by an employee to his or her employer. Cannabis related businesses operating within the unincorporated area of the county are required to obtain a business license from the county and the State of California, however, failure to obtain the required business license does not exempt a cannabis related business from the tax liability created with this ordinance.

Cannabis or cannabis product means any and all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis indica, or Cannabis ruderalis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufactured product, salt, derivative, mixture, tincture, tea, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. "Cannabis" also means the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from cannabis. "Cannabis" also means marijuana as defined by Section 11018 of the California Health and Safety Code.

Cannabis product means raw cannabis that has undergone a process whereby the raw agricultural product has been transformed into a concentrate, an edible product, or a topical product. "Cannabis product" also means marijuana products as defined by Section 11018.1 of the California Health and Safety Code and is not limited to medical cannabis products.

Commercial cannabis business means any commercial business activity relating to cannabis or a cannabis product, including but not limited to cultivating, distributing, manufacturing, laboratory testing, compounding, converting, processing, preparing, storing, packaging, labeling, delivering, and selling (wholesale and/or retail sales) of cannabis, cannabis products in the unincorporated area of the county, whether or not carried on for gain or profit.

Commercial cannabis business tax, business tax, or commercial cannabis tax means the tax due pursuant to this chapter for engaging in commercial cannabis business in the unincorporated area of the county.

Commercial cannabis cultivation means cultivation conducted by, for, as part of a commercial cannabis business.

County permit means a permit issued by the county to a person to authorize that person to operate or engage in a commercial cannabis business. The term "county permit" includes commercial medical cannabis and nonmedical cannabis permit. The term "county permit" includes such permit as county may require to operate or engage in medical or nonmedical commercial cannabis business.

Cultivation means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis. Also includes the storing, packaging, and labeling of nonmanufactured cannabis products.

Delivery means the commercial transfer of cannabis or cannabis products from a dispensary.

Dispensary means a facility where cannabis, cannabis products, or devices for the use of cannabis or cannabis products are offered, either individually or in any combination, for retail sale, including an establishment that delivers cannabis and cannabis products as part of a retail sale.

Distributor or distribution or distribution facility means a person or facility involved in the procurement, sale, and/or transport of cannabis and cannabis products between permitted or licensed entities.

Employee means each and every person engaged in the operation or conduct of any business, whether as owner, member of the owner's family, partner, associate, agent, manager or solicitor, and each and every other person employed or working in such business for a wage, salary, commission, barter or any other form of compensation.

Engaged in business means the commencing, conducting, operating, managing or carrying on of a cannabis business and the exercise of corporate or franchise powers, whether done as owner, or by means of an officer, agent, manager, employee, or otherwise, whether operating from a fixed location in the unincorporated area of the county or coming into the unincorporated area of the county from an outside location to engage in such activities. A person shall be deemed engaged in business within the county if:

(1)

Such person or person's employee maintains a fixed place of business within unincorporated area of the county for the benefit or partial benefit of such person;

(2)

Such person or person's employee owns or leases real property within the unincorporated area of county for business purposes;

(3)

Such person or person's employee regularly maintains a stock of tangible personal property in the unincorporated area of county for sale in the ordinary course of business;

(4)

Such person or person's employee regularly conducts solicitation of business within the unincorporated area of county;

(5)

Such person or person's employee performs work or renders services in the unincorporated area of county; and

(6)

Such person or person's employee utilizes the streets within the unincorporated area of county in connection with the operation of motor vehicles for business purposes.

The foregoing specified activities shall not be a limitation on the meaning of "engaged in business."

Evidence of doing business means evidence such as, without limitation, use of signs, circulars, cards or any other advertising media, including the use of internet or telephone solicitation, or representation to a government agency or to the public that such person is engaged in a cannabis business in the unincorporated area of county.

Fiscal year means July 1 through June 30 of the following calendar year.

Gross receipts except as otherwise specifically provided means the total amount actually received or receivable from all sales; the total amount or compensation actually received or receivable for the performance of any act or service, of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not such act or service is done as a part of or in connection with the sale of materials, goods, wares or merchandise; discounts, rents, royalties, fees, commissions, dividends, and gains realized from trading in stocks or bonds, any excise tax included within the purchase price however designated. Included in "gross receipts" shall be all receipts, cash, credits and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service costs, interest paid or payable, or losses or other expenses whatsoever, except that the following shall be excluded therefrom:

(1)

Cash discounts where allowed and taken on sales;

(2)

Credit allowed on property accepted as part of the purchase price and which property may later be sold, at which time the sales price shall be included as gross receipts;

(3)

Sales tax required by law to be added to the purchase price and collected from the consumer or purchaser;

(4)

Such part of the sale price of any property returned by purchasers to the seller as refunded by the seller by way of cash or credit allowances or return of refundable deposits previously included in gross receipts;

(5)

Receipts from investments where the holder of the investment receives only interest and/or dividends, royalties, annuities and gains from the sale or exchange of stock or securities solely for a person's own account, not derived in the ordinary course of a business;

(6)

Receipts derived from the occasional sale of used, obsolete or surplus trade fixtures, machinery or other equipment used by the taxpayer in the regular course of the taxpayer's business;

(7)

Cash value of sales, trades or transactions between departments or units of the same business;

(8)

Whenever there are included within the gross receipts amounts which reflect sales for which credit is extended and such amount proved uncollectible in a subsequent year, those amounts may be excluded from the gross receipts in the year they prove to be uncollectible; provided, however, if the whole or portion of such amounts excluded as uncollectible are subsequently collected they shall be included in the amount of gross receipts for the period when they are recovered;

(9)

Transactions between a partnership and its partners;

(10)

Receipts from services or sales in transactions between affiliated corporations. An affiliated corporation is a corporation:

a.

The voting and non-voting stock of which is owned at least eighty (80) percent by such other corporation with which such transaction is had; or

b.

Which owns at least eighty (80) percent of the voting and non-voting stock of such other corporation; or

c.

At least eighty (80) percent of the voting and non-voting stock of which is owned by a common parent corporation which also has such ownership of the corporation with which such transaction is had.

(11)

Transactions between a limited liability company and its member(s), provided the limited liability company has elected to file as a Subchapter K entity under the Internal Revenue Code and that such transaction(s) shall be treated the same as between a partnership and its partner(s) as specified in subsection (9) above;

(12)

Receipts of refundable deposits, except that such deposits when forfeited and taken into income of the business shall not be excluded when in excess of one dollar;

(13)

Amounts collected for others where the business is acting as an agent or trustee and to the extent that such amounts are paid to those for whom collected. These agents or trustees must provide the finance department with the names and the addresses of the others and the amounts paid to them. This exclusion shall not apply to any fees, percentages, or other payments retained by the agent or trustees.

Manufacturer means a person that conducts the processing, production, preparation, propagation, or compounding of cannabis products either directly or indirectly or by extraction and/or infusion and chemical synthesis methods, at a fixed location that packages or repackages cannabis or cannabis products or labels or relabels its container, that holds a valid county permit. Cannabis manufacturing also includes any processing, preparing, holding, or storing of components and ingredients.

Nursery means a person that produces only clones, immature plants, seeds, and other agricultural products used specifically for the planting, propagation, and cultivation of cannabis.

Person means an individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, whether organized as a nonprofit or for-profit entity, and includes the plural as well as the singular number.

Personal cannabis cultivation means cultivation of up to six (6) plants or fewer of cannabis exclusively for his or her personal medical or nonmedical use but who does not provide, donate, sell, or distribute cannabis to any other person.

Sale means and includes any sale, exchange, or barter.

State means the State of California.

State license, license, or registration means a State license issued pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Section 26000 et seq. or other applicable state law.

Testing laboratory means a facility, entity, or site in the state that offers or performs testing of cannabis or cannabis products and that is both of the following:

(1)

Accredited by an accrediting body that is independent from all other persons involved in the cannabis industry in the state; and

(2)

Registered with the California State Department of Public Health.

(Ord. No. 3361, § 1, 3-6-18)