Colorado § 29-2-114 - Retail marijuana excise tax - county - municipality - election.

§ 29-2-114. Retail marijuana excise tax - county - municipality - election.

(1) (a) In addition to any sales tax imposed pursuant to section 29-2-103 and articles 26 and 28.8 of title 39, and in addition to the excise tax imposed pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39, each county in the state is authorized to levy, collect, and enforce a county excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility authorized by the county at a rate of up to five percent of the average market rate, as determined by the department of revenue pursuant to section 39-28.8-101 (1), of the unprocessed retail marijuana if the transaction is between affiliated retail marijuana business licensees and at a rate of up to five percent of the contract price, as defined in section 39-28.8-101 (2.5), for unprocessed retail marijuana if the transaction is between unaffiliated retail marijuana business licensees; except that a county is not authorized to levy, collect, and enforce a county excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility pursuant to this subsection (1) within any municipality that levies such an excise tax pursuant to subsection (2) of this section and a county which, before November 1, 2018, obtained the approval of the eligible electors of the county as required by subsection (1)(b) of this section to levy only a county excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility that is calculated based upon the average market rate of unprocessed retail marijuana and in which the eligible electors thereafter rejected a proposed amendment to allow the tax to be calculated based on the contract price for transactions between unaffiliated retail marijuana businesses may continue to collect the tax on such transactions based on an average market rate calculation until December 31, 2020. The tax shall be imposed at the time when the retail marijuana cultivation facility first sells or transfers unprocessed retail marijuana from the retail marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana product manufacturing facility, a retail marijuana store, or another retail marijuana cultivation facility.

(b) No excise tax shall be levied pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) until the proposal has been referred to and approved by the eligible electors of the county. The adoption procedures for a countywide sales tax, use tax, or both, as specified in this article, shall apply to the referral and approval of an excise tax pursuant to this subsection (1). Any proposal for the levy of an excise tax in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) may be submitted to the eligible electors of the county only on the date of the state general election or on the first Tuesday in November of an odd-numbered year, and any election on the proposal must be conducted by the county clerk and recorder in accordance with the "Uniform Election Code of 1992", articles 1 to 13 of title 1, C.R.S.

(2) (a) In addition to any sales tax imposed pursuant to section 29-2-102 and articles 26 and 28.8 of title 39, and in addition to the excise tax imposed pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39, each municipality in the state is authorized to levy, collect, and enforce a municipal excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility at a rate of up to five percent of the average market rate, as determined by the department of revenue pursuant to section 39-28.8-101 (1), of the unprocessed retail marijuana if the transaction is between affiliated retail marijuana business licensees and at a rate of up to five percent of the contract price, as defined in section 39-28.8-101 (2.5), for unprocessed retail marijuana if the transaction is between unaffiliated retail marijuana business licensees; except that a municipality which, before November 1, 2018, obtained the approval of the eligible electors of the municipality as required by subsection (2)(b) of this section to levy only a municipal excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility that is calculated based upon the average market rate of unprocessed retail marijuana and in which the eligible electors thereafter rejected a proposed amendment to allow the tax to be calculated based on the contract price for transactions between unaffiliated retail marijuana businesses may continue to collect the tax on such transactions based on an average market rate calculation until December 31, 2020. The tax shall be imposed at the time when the retail marijuana cultivation facility first sells or transfers unprocessed retail marijuana from the retail marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana product manufacturing facility, a retail marijuana store, or another retail marijuana cultivation facility.

(b) No excise tax shall be levied pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) until the proposal has been referred to and approved by the eligible electors of the municipality in accordance with the provisions of article 10 of title 31, C.R.S. Any proposal for the levy of an excise tax in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) may be submitted to the eligible electors of the municipality on the date of the state general election, on the first Tuesday in November of an odd-numbered year, or on the date of a municipal biennial election. Any election on the proposal shall be conducted by the clerk of the municipality in accordance with the "Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965", article 10 of title 31, C.R.S.

(3) Any excise tax imposed by a county or municipality pursuant to this section shall not be collected, administered, or enforced by the department of revenue pursuant to part 2 of this article 2, but shall instead be collected, administered, and enforced by the county or municipality imposing the tax.

(4) A county or municipality in which the eligible electors have approved an excise tax pursuant to this section may credit the revenues collected from the tax to the general fund of the county or municipality or to any special fund created in the county or municipality's treasury. The governing body of a county or municipality may use the revenues collected from the tax imposed pursuant to this section for any purpose as determined by the governing body or the electors of the county or municipality, as applicable.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to invalidate the presumed legality of any county or municipal excise tax imposed on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility that is consistent with this section and that is in addition to any excise tax imposed pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39, C.R.S., and that was approved by the eligible electors of the county or municipality prior to June 4, 2015.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit counties and municipalities from cooperating to create a countywide uniform excise tax on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility with voluntary abandonment of municipal excise tax ordinances.

(7) If a retail marijuana cultivation facility uses a retail marijuana transporter, as defined in section 44-10-103 (65), to transport unprocessed retail marijuana being sold or transferred by the retail marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana product manufacturer facility, a retail marijuana store, or another retail marijuana cultivation facility, the transportation of the unprocessed retail marijuana by the retail marijuana transporter is not a transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana for the purpose of levying any excise tax imposed pursuant to this section.

(8) Repealed.

Source: L. 2015: Entire section added, (HB 15-1367), ch. 271, p. 1078, § 18, effective June 4. L. 2017: (1)(a) and (2)(a) amended, (SB 17-192), ch. 299, p. 1640, § 5, effective August 9. L. 2018: (1)(a) and (2)(a) amended and (7) and (8) added, (SB 18-259), ch. 406, p. 2388, § 1, effective January 1, 2019. L. 2019: (7) amended, (SB 19-241), ch. 390, p. 3474, § 43, effective August 2; (7) amended, (SB 19-224), ch. 315, p. 2941, § 28, effective January 1, 2020. L. 2024: (3) amended, (SB 24-025), ch. 144, p. 566, § 15, effective July 1, 2025.

Editor's note: (1) Subsection (7) was amended in SB 19-241. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment to subsection (7) in SB 19-224, effective January 1, 2020.

(2) Subsection (8)(b) provided for the repeal of subsection (8), effective July 1, 2019. (See L. 2018, p. 2390.)

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 15-1367, see section 1 of chapter 271, Session Laws of Colorado 2015.