Senate Bill 1697, authored by Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, in the Senate, and Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, in the House,  passed.

It would require applicants for a medical marijuana commercial grower license and commercial grower licensees to file with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) a bond in an amount of no less than $25,000 for each license sought or held that covers the land where they will conduct grow operations.

Moore said, “When some of these businesses go up in smoke, our counties are left holding the bag for land that is difficult to reclaim and reuse for other purposes after it gets abandoned. This bill makes sure there is more accountability for those deciding to open a marijuana grow business.”

The bill also allows for OMMA to require a higher amount for the bond depending upon the probable difficulty of reclamation with consideration for topography, hydrology and revegetation potential.

Jech said, “Unfortunately, right now, businesses that shut down and walk away from their grows are leaving behind a mess that is costly for the state. By requiring a minimum $25,000 bond for each commercial grower license sought, we are ensuring that if these grows are abandoned, the state will have the funds to clean up the land and reclaim that property without it being a burden to taxpayers.”