The Mobile City Council will consider an ordinance amending its license code to comply with state law regarding the sale of consumable hemp products.
Both the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board and local governing bodies must approve businesses that sell consumable hemp products, according to a law that took effect on January 1.
The City of Mobile gave businesses a 90-day transitional period for approval, provided they had submitted their applications to the ABC Board. However, city attorney Ricardo Woods said discussions with the ABC Board over what "governing body" may give approval have caused confusion.
"The statute specifically that we're talking about says 'governing body," Woods explained. "That can be interpreted one or two ways. One can be it is actually you all that has to do it. Two is you could designate the administrative arm or the executive arm to do it. The resolution, we believed in all good faith, was you all saying, 'Give them the nod.' We have not come to a meeting of the minds with ABC about what that means."
Woods said the point of the 90-day grace period was to prevent a backlog of applications. While city leaders agreed on the resolution, Woods said the state did not.
"Their interpretation is somewhat different, and they're looking at it going 'Well, you as the governing body have to give it the nod either through an ordinance that designates it administratively or you have to take it on case-by-case.' So, we're all on the same page here at the local level."
Woods and Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said the city is trying to get business owners back in business. As soon as the new ordinance is passed, the council will be able to approve local applications.
"I will say the sooner the better," Cheriogotis said. "We have a number of applicants. I don't have the exact number in front of me, but … a lot of businesses that were selling this product legally, we want to get them back in the business of selling this product legally, as the city's missing out on that tax revenue."
All businesses selling hemp products must comply with the city's Unified Development Code (UDC) and operational regulations, including hours of operation, age restrictions, a prohibition on on-site consumption, inspections and zoning requirements.
The application fee for consumable hemp products would be $50 under the new license schedule. The council will revisit the discussion and consider the ordinance at its pre-council and council meeting on Tuesday.
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