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HB94 • 2026

MARIJUANA: TAX/REGISTRATION; INCOME TAX

An Act relating to the registration of marijuana establishments; relating to a tax exemption for qualified small businesses; relating to marijuana taxes; and providing for an effective date.

Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI
Last action
2025-03-03
Official status
(H) L&C
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about how many small Alaska corporations will qualify for the income tax exemption.

Marijuana Registration and Tax Changes

This bill changes the registration process for marijuana establishments to biennial, sets new tax rules for these businesses, and offers tax breaks to small Alaska corporations.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the registration process for marijuana establishments from annual to biennial (every two years).
  • Allows local governments to set fees for registering marijuana businesses every two years instead of annually.
  • Adds a rule that if a majority votes to ban marijuana businesses in an area, existing registrations become invalid after 90 days unless renewed with a prorated fee.
  • Exempts small Alaska corporations from income tax if they meet certain requirements.
  • Increases the excise tax on selling or transferring marijuana from cultivation facilities to retail stores.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Marijuana businesses in Alaska
  • Local governments that regulate marijuana establishments
  • Small Alaska corporations

Terms To Know

Biennial
Happening every two years.
Excise tax
A tax on specific goods or activities, like selling marijuana.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify an effective date.
  • It is unclear how many small Alaska corporations will qualify for the income tax exemption.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-03 Min

    (H) Minutes (HL&C)

  2. 2025-03-03 Text

    (H) Heard & Held

  3. 2025-03-03 Text

    (H) LABOR & COMMERCE at 03:15 PM BARNES 124

  4. 2025-02-12 172

    (H) REFERRED TO LABOR & COMMERCE

  5. 2025-02-12 172

    (H) L&C, FIN

  6. 2025-02-12 172

    (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

MARIJUANA: TAX/REGISTRATION; INCOME TAX
An Act relating to the registration of marijuana establishments; relating to a tax exemption for qualified small businesses; relating to marijuana taxes; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB0094a -1- HB 94
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HOUSE BILL NO. 94

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVE TOMASZEWSKI

Introduced: 2/12/25
Referred: Labor and Commerce, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to the registration of marijuana establishment s; relating to a tax 1
exemption for qualified small businesses; relating to marijuana taxes; and providing for 2
an effective date." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 17.38.200(d) is amended to read: 5
(d) Within 45 to 90 days after receiving an application or ren ewal application, 6
the board shall issue a biennial [AN ANNUAL] registration to the applicant unless 7
the board finds the applicant is not in compliance with regulat ions enacted under 8
[PURSUANT TO] AS 17.38.190 or the board is notified by the rele vant local 9
government that the applicant is not in compliance with ordinan ces and regulations 10
made under [PURSUANT TO] AS 17.38.210 and in effect at the time of application. 11
* Sec. 2. AS 17.38.210(e) is amended to read: 12
(e) A local government may establish a schedule of biennial [ANNUAL] 13
operating, registration, and app lication fees for marijuana est ablishments, provided 14
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that the local government may charge the 1
(1) application fee only if an application is submitted to the local 2
government in accordance with (f) of this section; and 3
(2) registration fee only if a registration is issued by the l ocal 4
government in accordance with (f) of this section. 5
* Sec. 3. AS 17.38.210(f) is amended to read: 6
(f) If the board does not issue a registration to an applicant within 90 days 7
after receiving [ O F R E C E I P T O F ] t h e a p p l i c a t i o n f i l e d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h 8
AS 17.38.200 and does not notify the applicant of the specific, permissible reason for 9
its denial, in writing and within that [SUCH] time period, or if the board has adopted 10
regulations under [PURSUANT TO] AS 17.38.190 and ha s accepted applications 11
under [PURSUANT TO] AS 17.38.200 but has not issued any registration s by 15 12
months after February 24, 2015, the applicant may resubmit its application directly to 13
the local regulatory authority, in accordance with [PURSUANT TO] (c) of this 14
section, and the local regulatory authority may issue a biennial [AN ANNUAL] 15
registration to the applicant. If an application is submitted t o a local regulatory 16
authority under this subsection, the board shall forward to the local regulatory 17
authority the application fee paid by the applicant to the boar d upon request by the 18
local regulatory authority. 19
* Sec. 4. AS 17.38.210(h) is amended to read: 20
(h) A local regulatory authority issuing a registration to an applicant shall do 21
so within 90 days after receiving [OF RECEIPT OF] the submitted or resubmitted 22
application unless the local regulatory authority finds and not ifies the applicant that 23
the applicant is not in compliance with ordinances and regulati ons made under 24
[PURSUANT TO] (b) of this section in effect at the time the app lication is submitted 25
to the local regulatory authority. The local government shall n otify the board if a 26
biennial [AN ANNUAL] registration has been issued to the applicant. 27
* Sec. 5. AS 17.38.210(j) is amended to read: 28
(j) A subsequent or renewed re gistration may be issued under ( f) of this 29
section on a biennial [AN ANNUAL] basis only upon resubmission to the local 30
government of a new application submitted to the board under [PURSUANT TO] 31
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AS 17.38.200. 1
* Sec. 6. AS 17.38.320 is amended to read: 2
Sec. 17.38.320. Effect on registrations of prohibition of marij uana 3
establishments. If a majority of voters vote to prohibit the operation of mari juana 4
establishments under AS 17.38.300, the board may not issue, ren ew, or transfer, 5
between persons or locations, a registration for a marijuana es tablishment located 6
within the perimeter of the established village. A registration that may not be renewed 7
because of a local option election held under AS 17.38.300 is v oid 90 days after the 8
results of the election are certified. A registration that expi res during the 90 days after 9
the results of a local option election are certified may be ext ended, until it is void 10
under this section, by payment of a prorated portion of the biennial [ANNUAL] 11
registration fee. 12
* Sec. 7. AS 43.20.012(a) is amended to read: 13
(a) The tax imposed by this chapter does not apply to 14
(1) an individual; 15
(2) a fiduciary; 16
(3) the income received by a r egional associa tion qualified un der 17
AS 16.10.380 or nonprofit corporation holding a hatchery permit under AS 16.10.400 18
from the sale of salmon or salmon eggs under AS 16.10.450 or fr om a cost recovery 19
fishery under AS 16.10.455; [OR] 20
(4) the income received by a nonprofit corporation holding a p ermit 21
under AS 16.12.010 from the sale of shellfish under AS 16.12.08 0 or from a cost 22
recovery fishery under AS 16.12.090; or 23
( 5 ) a n A l a s k a c o r p o r a t i o n t h a t i s a q u a l i f i e d s m a l l b u s i n e s s and 24
that meets the active business requirements in 26 U.S.C. 1202(e ), as that 25
subsection read on January 1, 2012. 26
* Sec. 8. AS 43.20.012 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 27
(e) For the purposes of (a)(5) of this section, 28
(1) whether a corporation qualif ies under (a)(5) of this secti on shall be 29
determined on the first day of the tax year for which the corporation claims it qualifies 30
under (a)(5) of this section; 31
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(2) all corporations that are me mbers of the same parent-subsi diary 1
controlled group shall be treated as one corporation. 2
(f) In this section, 3
(1) "Alaska corporation" means a corporation that has been 4
incorporated in the state or is authorized to do business in the state; 5
(2) "parent-subsidiary controlled group" has the meaning given in 26 6
U.S.C. 1202, as that section read on January 1, 2012; 7
(3) "qualified small business" h as the meaning given in 26 U.S .C. 8
1202, as that section read on January 1, 2012, and does not inc lude a construction, 9
transportation, utility, or fisheries business. 10
* Sec. 9. AS 43.61.010(a) is amended to read: 11
(a) An excise tax is imposed on the sale or transfer of mariju ana from a 12
marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana store or m arijuana product 13
manufacturing facility. Every marijuana cultivation facility sh all pay an excise tax at 14
the rate of $12 an [$50 PER] ounce, or proportionate part thereof, on marijuana t hat is 15
sold or transferred from a marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana store or 16
marijuana product manufacturing facility. 17
* Sec. 10. AS 43.61.010(b) is amended to read: 18
(b) The department may exempt certain parts of the marijuana p lant from the 19
excise tax described in (a) of this section [OR MAY ESTABLISH A RATE LOWER 20
THAN $50 PER OUNCE FOR CERTAIN PARTS OF THE MARIJUANA PLANT]. 21
* Sec. 11. AS 43.61.010 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22
(g) The tax imposed under (a) of this section is imposed on th e sale or transfer 23
of marijuana by a person who, without a current valid registrat ion, cultivates 24
marijuana in an amount that exceeds the amount allowed under AS 17.38.020 for 25
personal use. A person who cultivates marijuana without a curre nt valid registration is 26
liable for the tax imposed under this subsection at the time the sale or transfer is made. 27
* Sec. 12. AS 43.61.020(b) is amended to read: 28
(b) The marijuana cultivation facility shall pay monthly to th e department, all 29
taxes, computed at the rate [RATES] prescribed in this chapter, on the respective total 30
quantities of the marijuana sold or transferred during the prec eding month. The 31
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monthly return shall be filed and the tax paid on or before the last day of each month 1
to cover the preceding month. 2
* Sec. 13. AS 43.61.030(a) is amended to read: 3
(a) A person who is delinquent in the payment of a tax [DELINQUENT 4
PAYMENTS] under this chapter is [SHALL] subject [THE MARIJUANA 5
CULTIVATION FACILITY] to civil penalties under AS 43.05.220. 6
* Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 7
read: 8
APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 43.20.012(a), as amended by sec. 7 of thi s Act, and 9
AS 43.20.012(e) and (f), enacted by sec. 8 of this Act, apply t o the tax year of a corporation 10
beginning on or after the effective date of this Act. 11
(b) AS 43.61.010(g), enacted by sec. 11 of this Act, and AS 43.61.030(a), as amended 12
by sec. 13 of this Act, apply to taxes accrued on or after the effective date of this Act. 13
* Sec. 15. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025. 14