Bill Text: NY S07045 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Enacts the "cannabis adult-use transition act"; increases the number of members on the state cannabis advisory board from thirteen to seventeen voting appointed members; provides that an eligible registered organization shall be authorized as a registered organization adult-use cultivator processor distributor retail dispensary upon approval of an application to the office of cannabis management that must be available to such registered organizations no later than August first, two thousand twenty-three and remain available thereafter; provides that the office must approve or deny such application within thirty days of its submission or it shall be deemed approved; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S07045 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S07045-Amended.html
Bill Title: Enacts the "cannabis adult-use transition act"; increases the number of members on the state cannabis advisory board from thirteen to seventeen voting appointed members; provides that an eligible registered organization shall be authorized as a registered organization adult-use cultivator processor distributor retail dispensary upon approval of an application to the office of cannabis management that must be available to such registered organizations no later than August first, two thousand twenty-three and remain available thereafter; provides that the office must approve or deny such application within thirty days of its submission or it shall be deemed approved; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S07045 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S07045-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7045--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 17, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the cannabis law and the state finance law, in relation to enacting the "cannabis adult-use transition act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "cannabis adult-use transition act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. Chapter 92 of the laws of 2021, 4 known as the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, legalized and regu- 5 lated cannabis for adult-use; expanded and improved the medical cannabis 6 program and the hemp program; established the Cannabis Control Board and 7 the Office of Cannabis Management, and codified historical social and 8 economic equity policies. Chapter 18 of the laws of 2022 created the 9 conditional adult-use cultivator and processor licenses to jump start 10 New York's adult-use cannabis market with small New York farmers. 11 The legislature recognizes that due to a variety of circumstances 12 beyond the control of New York's cannabis licensees and applicants, 13 there have been delays and unforeseen challenges with the implementation 14 of various components of the state's cannabis markets. Conditional 15 cultivators cannot afford to process their cannabis or sell their 16 finished products; conditional processors are struggling with limited 17 retail outlets; conditional adult-use retail dispensary licensees and 18 applicants do not have access to capital, locations, or the resources 19 they need to become operational; and the state's medical registered 20 organizations and patients are facing a diminishing medical cannabis 21 market. As a result, the state's cannabis industries are losing value 22 and jobs, patients are being left behind, and the illicit market is 23 growing. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11444-03-3S. 7045--A 2 1 § 3. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 14 of the cannabis law are 2 amended to read as follows: 3 2. The state cannabis advisory board shall consist of [thirteen] 4 seventeen voting appointed members, along with a representative from the 5 department of environmental conservation, the department of agriculture 6 and markets, the office of children and family services, the department 7 of labor, the department of health, the division of housing and communi- 8 ty renewal, the office of addiction services and supports, and the 9 department of education, serving as non-voting ex-officio members. The 10 governor shall have [seven] eleven appointments, the temporary president 11 of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall each have three 12 appointments to the board. The members shall be appointed to each serve 13 three year terms and in the event of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be 14 filled in the manner of the original appointment for the remainder of 15 the term. The appointed members and representatives shall receive no 16 compensation for their services but shall be allowed their actual and 17 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as board 18 members. 19 3. Advisory board members shall have statewide geographic represen- 20 tation that is balanced and diverse in its composition. Appointed 21 members shall have an expertise in public and behavioral health, 22 substance use disorder treatment, effective rehabilitative treatment for 23 adults and juveniles, homelessness and housing, economic development, 24 environmental conservation, job training and placement, criminal 25 justice, and drug policy. Further, the advisory board shall include 26 residents, one retailer, one certified patient, one service disabled 27 veteran, and one supply tier licensee from communities most impacted by 28 cannabis prohibition, people with prior drug convictions, the formerly 29 incarcerated, and representatives from the farming industry, cannabis 30 industry, and organizations serving communities impacted by past federal 31 and state drug policies. 32 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 99-ii of the state 33 finance law, as added by chapter 92 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 34 read as follows: 35 (c) Actual and necessary costs incurred by the office of cannabis 36 management and the cannabis control board, and the urban development 37 corporation, related to the administration of incubators and other 38 assistance to qualified social and economic equity applicants including 39 the administration, capitalization, and provision of low and zero inter- 40 est loans to such applicants [pursuant to], including the conditional 41 adult-use retail dispensary licensees. The office of cannabis management 42 shall administer theses resources in accordance with the social equity 43 and economic plan mandated pursuant to article four of the cannabis law 44 and in accordance with section sixteen-ee of the urban development 45 corporation act. Such costs shall be paid out of revenues received, 46 including, but not limited to, from special one-time fees paid by regis- 47 tered organizations pursuant to section sixty-three of the cannabis law. 48 § 5. Section 39 of the cannabis law is amended to read as follows: 49 § 39. Registered organizations and adult-use cannabis. The board shall 50 [have the authority to] grant [some or all of the] registered organiza- 51 tions [registered with the department of health and] currently regis- 52 tered and in good standing with the office, the ability to obtain 53 adult-use cannabis licenses pursuant to article four of this chapter and 54 subject to any [fees, rules or conditions] regulation prescribed by the 55 board [in regulation].S. 7045--A 3 1 § 6. Subdivision 1-a of section 63 of the cannabis law is amended to 2 read as follows: 3 1-a. The [board shall also have the authority to assess a registered4organization with a] one-time special licensing fee for a registered 5 organization adult-use cultivator processor, distributor retail dispen- 6 sary [license. Such fee shall be assessed at an amount to adequately] 7 licensed pursuant to section sixty-eight-a of this article, shall be 8 twenty million dollars, an amount to be used exclusively to fund social 9 and economic equity and incubator assistance pursuant to this article 10 and paragraph (c) of subdivision three of section ninety-nine-ii of the 11 state finance law. Such fee shall be payable in five million dollar 12 installments, the first of which upon licensure, and thereafter within 13 thirty days of each one hundred million dollars in revenue generated by 14 such licensee until paid in full, or such obligation expires on December 15 thirty-first, two thousand thirty, whichever occurs first. At least 16 fifty percent of the total fees collected shall be administered by the 17 office as grants or zero or low interest loans to the conditional 18 adult-use retail dispensary licensees. Conditional adult-use retail 19 dispensary licensees who accept zero or low interest loans shall be 20 allowed to prepay such loans without penalty. Provided, however, that 21 the board shall not allow registered organizations to dispense adult-use 22 cannabis from more than three of their medical cannabis dispensing 23 locations. [The timing and manner in which registered organizations may24be granted such authority shall be determined by the board in regu-25lation.] An eligible registered organization shall be authorized as a 26 registered organization adult-use cultivator processor distributor 27 retail dispensary pursuant to section sixty-eight-a of this article upon 28 approval of an application to the office that must be available to such 29 registered organizations no later than August first, two thousand twen- 30 ty-three and remain available thereafter. The office must approve or 31 deny such application within thirty days of its submission or it shall 32 be deemed approved. A registered organization adult-use cultivator 33 processor distributor retail dispensary licensee shall be authorized to 34 cultivate, process, and distribute in the adult-use cannabis market, 35 provided however, that each licensee's first co-located dispensary shall 36 not offer adult-use cannabis for retail sale until or after December 37 twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty-three; the second co-located dispen- 38 sary shall not offer adult-use cannabis for retail sale until or after 39 January first, two thousand twenty-four; and the third co-located 40 dispensary shall not offer adult-use cannabis for retail sale until or 41 after April first, two thousand twenty-four. These licensees must submit 42 a plan to the office demonstrating their commitment to diversifying the 43 co-located dispensary shelf space for adult-use with cannabis products 44 from adult-use cultivators and processors licensed pursuant to sections 45 sixty-eight, sixty-eight-b, sixty-eight-c, sixty-nine, sixty-nine-a, 46 seventy, and seventy-three of this article. 47 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 68-c of the cannabis law, as added by 48 chapter 18 of the laws of 2022, is amended and two new subdivisions 16 49 and 17 are added to read as follows: 50 3. A conditional adult-use cultivator license shall authorize the 51 cultivation of cannabis outdoors or in a greenhouse or aquaponics facil- 52 ity with no more than twenty artificial lights unless otherwise author- 53 ized by the office. A conditional adult-use cultivator licensee may 54 cultivate up to forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet of 55 flowering canopy outdoors or twenty-five thousand square feet of flower- 56 ing canopy in a greenhouse or aquaponics facility. A cultivator mayS. 7045--A 4 1 cultivate both outdoors and in a greenhouse or aquaponics facility 2 provided the flowering canopy in a greenhouse or aquaponics facility is 3 less than twenty-thousand square feet and the total flowering canopy is 4 equal to or less than thirty-thousand square feet. 5 16. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a conditional 6 adult-use cultivator or processor licensee shall be authorized to sell 7 tested, packaged, and sealed cannabis products to registered organiza- 8 tions for retail sale at up to three of such registered organizations' 9 existing medical cannabis dispensing facilities until June first, two 10 thousand twenty-four, provided however that the conditional cultivator 11 or processor licensees shall prioritize wholesaling to conditional 12 adult-use retail dispensaries. A registered organization selling condi- 13 tionally grown and processed cannabis products at any of its cannabis 14 dispensing facilities shall pay three percent of any such sales through 15 June first, two thousand twenty-six, to the state, with two-thirds of 16 such funds used toward grants authorized pursuant to paragraphs (c) and 17 (d) of subdivision three of section ninety-nine-ii of the state finance 18 law to offset tax obligations of the conditional adult-use retail 19 dispensary licensees and the remaining one-third of such funds used at 20 the discretion of the office in implementing social and economic equity 21 programs. Such payments by the registered organizations shall account to 22 the special one time licensing fee assessed pursuant to section sixty- 23 three of this article. 24 17. The office is authorized to create a loan program for conditional 25 adult-use cultivators for the purpose of having any cannabis grown under 26 a conditional adult-use cultivator license in two thousand twenty-two 27 processed into shelf stable formats. The end-product of such processing 28 shall be returned to the licensee for future use. 29 § 8. Subdivision 6 of section 72 of the cannabis law is amended to 30 read as follows: 31 6. No cannabis retail licensee shall locate a storefront within five 32 hundred feet of a school grounds as such term is defined in the educa- 33 tion law or within two hundred feet of a house of worship. The board 34 and/or office shall not establish additional setback requirements. 35 § 9. The cannabis law is amended by adding a new section 72-a to read 36 as follows: 37 § 72-a. Conditional adult-use retail dispensary license. 1. The 38 following minimum requirements must be met to become an eligible appli- 39 cant for this license: 40 (a) an applicant must demonstrate: 41 (i) a significant presence in New York state, either individually or 42 by having a principal corporate location in the state; 43 (ii) it is incorporated or otherwise organized under the laws of New 44 York state; or 45 (iii) a majority of the ownership of the applicant are residents of 46 New York state by being physically present in the state no less than one 47 hundred eighty calendar days during the current year or five hundred 48 forty calendar days over the course of three years; 49 (b) if the applicant is an individual, or an entity with one or more 50 individuals, at least one individual must: 51 (i) be justice involved, which means an individual that: 52 (A) was convicted of a marihuana-related offense in New York state 53 prior to March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one; 54 (B) had a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse, or dependent who was 55 convicted of a marihuana-related offense in New York state prior to 56 March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one; orS. 7045--A 5 1 (C) was a dependent of an individual who was convicted of a marihua- 2 na-related offense in New York state prior to March thirty-first, two 3 thousand twenty-one; and 4 (ii) provide evidence of the primary residence of the justice involved 5 individual at the time of such individual's arrest or conviction; and 6 (iii) hold or have held, for a minimum of two years, at least ten 7 percent ownership interest in, and control of, a qualifying business, 8 which means a business that had net profit for at least two of the years 9 the business was in operation; or 10 (c) if the applicant is a nonprofit organization, or wholly owned and 11 controlled by one, the nonprofit organization must: 12 (i) be recognized as an entity pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the 13 Internal Revenue Code; 14 (ii) intentionally serve justice involved individuals and communities 15 with historically high rates of arrest, conviction, incarceration or 16 other indicators of law enforcement activity for marihuana-related 17 offenses; 18 (iii) operate and manage a social enterprise that had at least two 19 years of positive net assets or profit as evidenced in the organiza- 20 tion's tax returns; 21 (iv) have a history of creating vocational opportunity for justice 22 involved individuals; 23 (v) have a justice involved individual or individuals on its board or 24 as officers; and 25 (vi) have at least five full-time employees. 26 2. At least fifty-one percent or more of the applicant shall be owned, 27 in the aggregate, by: 28 (a) at least one individual that satisfies the requirements for an 29 eligible applicant as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 30 one of this section or an entity that satisfies the requirements for an 31 eligible applicant as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (c) of subdivi- 32 sion one of this section; and 33 (b) any other additional individuals, if any, who are justice 34 involved; and 35 (c) at least one individual that satisfies the requirements for an 36 eligible applicant as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivi- 37 sion one of this section or an entity that satisfies the requirements 38 for an eligible applicant as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (c) of 39 subdivision one of this section shall own at least thirty percent of the 40 applicant and such individual or entity shall have sole control of the 41 applicant or licensee. 42 3. An eligible applicant shall be evaluated based on any of the 43 following criteria which shall be weighted as determined by the 44 office: 45 (a) if the applicant is an individual, or an entity with one or more 46 individuals, whether the justice involved individual was themselves 47 convicted of a marihuana-related offense as set forth in regulation; 48 (b) the justice involved individual's primary residence at the time of 49 such individual's arrest or conviction: 50 (i) relative to areas with historically high rates of arrest, 51 conviction, or incarceration for marihuana-related offenses; 52 (ii) relative to areas with historically low median income; or 53 (iii) was provided by a public housing authority in New York state or 54 New York city; and 55 (c) the qualifying business based on: 56 (i) the number of employees employed by the business;S. 7045--A 6 1 (ii) the number of years the business has been in operation; 2 (iii) the profitability of the business; 3 (iv) type of business and whether the business was a retail business, 4 or sold products or services directly to the end-consumer; 5 (v) whether the business had a physical location; or 6 (vi) whether the business received or resolved any violations, fines 7 or fees assessed against the business by state or federal regulatory 8 authorities; and 9 (d) any other factors as determined by the office. 10 4. The office may create regional geographic zones for the scoring of 11 applicants. Applicants may be asked to rank a number of preferences of 12 regional geographic zones to be considered for a license. For regional 13 geographical zones where there are more applicants than available 14 licenses, the office may select from eligible applicants who indicated 15 first preference for the given region based on weighted scoring of the 16 evaluation criteria set out above. In the event there is a tie between 17 two or more candidates or there are more applicants than available 18 licenses after the evaluation criteria has been applied, the office is 19 authorized to use a random selection process to identify the final 20 applicants to recommend to the board for licensure. 21 5. The office shall approve, deny, or request additional information 22 in regards to a conditional adult-use retail dispensary licensee's 23 submission for location approvals within thirty days of receipt or the 24 location request shall be automatically approved so long as it complies 25 with the setback requirements of this chapter. 26 6. The office and dormitory authority shall make the list of addresses 27 for any executed lease agreements entered into and potentially available 28 to eligible conditional adult-use retail dispensary licensees publicly 29 available on their websites, and upon request. Such list shall be 30 updated each week to maximize the transparency for retail dispensary 31 licensees securing store locations and shall not include or block any 32 locations without an executed lease. 33 7. The office shall promulgate any rules and regulations to fully 34 implement this section and any rules and regulations adopted prior to 35 the enactment of this section shall not be invalidated. 36 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 37 the amendments to section 68-c of the cannabis law made by section seven 38 of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be 39 deemed repealed therewith.
