The governor’s proposed budget calls for $60 million of tax revenue on legal marijuana for half the year, assuming lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy can agree on a bill.
If legalized adult use cannabis and the surrounding bureaucracy is implemented on Jan. 1, 2020, the budget projects $39 million in net revenue over the course of six months.
Twenty-one million dollars would go towards the first-time costs of getting the administration set up, according to Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio, but over time that amount would flatten out at roughly $12 million a year.
Murphy campaigned on legalizing marijuana within his first 100 days of office, but his efforts fell flat as they stalled in the state Legislature. A deal struck in February calls for cannabis to be taxed at $42 an ounce, and for a five-person Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the fledgling market. Murphy would be able to pick three seats requiring Senate approval.
The $60 million gross revenue estimate is based on the per-ounce-tax, according to a senior administration official.