California's continued affordable housing crisis and the impact of the state's recent legalization of recreational marijuana on real estate are among the areas of Golden State regulation and legislation real estate lawyers will have their eyes on in 2017.
While medical marijuana has been legal in California for more than a decade, the decision by voters in November to legalize recreational pot has created additional questions about how marijuana is regulated and taxed throughout the state.
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The state currently does not have a uniform way of taxing the industry, says Brad R. Marsh of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
“There's going to need to be a standard way to audit this business. It makes sense that there should also be a standard way to tax it through the state,” Marsh said, adding that he hopes the state in 2017 achieves a “modicum of uniformity.”