KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Massachusetts

H177 • 2025

An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales

An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Michael J. Soter
Last action
2026-05-11
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5396 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales

An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales By Representative Soter of Bellingham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales By Representative Soter of Bellingham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 177) of Michael J.
  • Soter relative to establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales.
  • Cannabis Policy.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-11 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5396 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-06-13 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/17/2025 from 10:00 AM-01:00 PM in B-1

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Cannabis Policy

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales
By Representative Soter of Bellingham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 177) of Michael J. Soter relative to establishing a local transaction fee on cannabis sales. Cannabis Policy.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
×

Bill H.177

SECTION 1. Chapter 94G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (d) of section 3 in its entirety and inserting in its place thereof the following:-

(d) No municipality shall require a host community agreement (HCA) as a condition for the licensing, operation, or approval of any cannabis retail establishment within its jurisdiction. Cannabis retailers shall be subject to all applicable state laws and regulations but shall not be required to enter into separate agreements with municipalities beyond the requirements of state law.

SECTION 2. Chapter 64H of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following:-

Section 6B. Local transaction fees on cannabis sales

(a) In addition to the state sales tax imposed under section 2 of chapter 64H, there shall be an additional local transaction fee of 1% on all retail sales of cannabis or cannabis products sold by a licensed cannabis retailer in any municipality within the commonwealth.

(b) The local transaction fee shall be collected by the retailer at the point of sale and remitted to the department of revenue, which shall distribute the funds to the appropriate municipality.

(c) The 1% local transaction fee shall be in addition to any local sales tax and shall be collected on all adult-use cannabis products. All medical marijuana transactions shall be exempt.

SECTION 3. The department of revenue shall promulgate regulations regarding local transaction fee collection and distribution within 90 days of the effective date of this act.

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Close