Pevely city officials will ask voters in April to approve a 3-cent sales tax to be charged on the sale of recreational marijuana.
The measure will require a simple majority to pass.
The Pevely Board of Alderman voted 6-0 on Jan. 9 to place the 3-cent sales tax on the April 4 ballot. Steve Markus and Larry Coulson of Ward 1 were absent for the vote.
The 3-cent sales tax proposal would generate revenue for the city of Pevely, providing much-needed funding for the city, according to Pevely documents.
Pevely is among a growing list of cities throughout the Missouri trying to get voters to pass a local sales tax on the sale of recreational marijuana, including Festus.
Recreational marijuana is not currently being sold in Pevely, but Missouri voters approved a measure on Nov. 8 allowing for the sale of recreational marijuana to people 21 and older.
Facilities that currently sell medical marijuana were allowed to start applying for licenses to sell recreational marijuana on Dec. 8. Once a facility applies, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services will have 60 days to act on those requests.
The facilities that receive the licenses may begin selling recreational marijuana in February, allowing Missourians to walk into a dispensary and purchase cannabis. Per Amendment 3, which is the measure that made recreational marijuana legal, consumers are allowed to have up to three ounces of dried marijuana flower or its equivalent.
As part of the amendment, the state will charge an additional 6-cent sales tax on recreational marijuana purchases.
If Pevely’s measure is approved in April, that means an extra 9-cent sales tax (6 cents for the state and 3 cents for the Pevely) would be charged when consumers buy recreational marijuana in the city.
Pevely City Administrator Andy Hixson said the city’s current sales tax rate is 8.35 cents per dollar.
That means if Pevely voters approve the marijuana tax in April and if someone were to buy recreational marijuana in the city, the sales tax on that purchase would be 17.35 cents per dollar.