CHP announces grant funding to combat impaired driving

The California Highway Patrol has announced the availability of nearly $27 million in grant funds to help local communities combat impaired driving.

The funding is the result of Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. It provides specified cannabis tax funding to the CHP to administer local grants for education, prevention and enforcement programs regarding impaired driving.

Funding for the grants comes from a tax on the cultivation and sale of cannabis and cannabis products sold in California since Jan. 2018.

For this grant cycle, the CHP’s Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program will be awarding grants based on a competitive process to local law enforcement agencies and toxicology laboratories meeting the eligibility requirements described in the 2021 Request for Application, available at https://bit.ly/3rJPaQC.

The CHP will hold a virtual workshop on Jan. 6 to answer questions from potential grant applicants regarding the application process, the 2021 Request for Application, administrative program regulations and other general questions.

Applications will be accepted Jan. 7-Feb. 23 for programs beginning July 1. These grants will enhance existing efforts to address impaired driving.

“These grants represent an opportunity for the CHP to work collaboratively with local traffic safety stakeholders to strategically address impaired driving issues while making California’s roadways a safer place to travel,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a press statement.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2Jw4cby.