Bill Text: NY S08636 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Increases membership on the cannabis control board and the cannabis advisory board.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-23 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S08636 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08636-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8636

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 23, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations

        AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to  the  cannabis  control
          board and the cannabis advisory board

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.  Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 7 of the cannabis law  are
     2  amended to read as follows:
     3    1. The cannabis control board is hereby created and shall consist of a
     4  chairperson nominated by the governor and with the advice and consent of
     5  the  senate, with one vote, and [four] six other voting board members as
     6  provided for in subdivision two of this section.
     7    2. Appointments. In addition to the chairperson,  the  governor  shall
     8  have  [two]  four  direct  appointments  to the board, and the temporary
     9  president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall each  have
    10  one direct appointment to the board. Appointments shall be for a term of
    11  three  years  each and should, to the extent possible, be geographically
    12  and demographically representative of the state and communities  histor-
    13  ically affected by the war on drugs. Board members shall be citizens and
    14  permanent  residents  of  this  state. The chairperson and the remaining
    15  members of such board shall continue to serve as chairperson and members
    16  of the board until the expiration of the respective terms for which they
    17  were appointed. Upon the expiration of such respective terms the succes-
    18  sors of such chairperson and members shall be appointed to serve  for  a
    19  term  of three years each and until their successors have been appointed
    20  and qualified. The members,  except  for  the  chairperson,  shall  when
    21  performing  the  work  of  the  board,  be  compensated at a rate of two
    22  hundred sixty dollars per day, and together with an allowance for actual
    23  and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of  their  duties.  The
    24  chairperson  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  not to exceed an amount
    25  appropriated therefor by the legislature, and  their  expenses  actually
    26  and  necessarily  incurred  in the performance of their official duties,
    27  unless otherwise provided by the  legislature.  No  member  or  member's

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14658-01-4
        S. 8636                             2

     1  spouse  or minor child shall have any interest in an entity regulated by
     2  the board.
     3    §  2.  Subdivisions  2  and  3  of  section 14 of the cannabis law are
     4  amended to read as follows:
     5    2. The state cannabis advisory board shall consist of [thirteen] nine-
     6  teen voting appointed members, along  with  a  representative  from  the
     7  department  of environmental conservation, the department of agriculture
     8  and markets, the office of children and family services, the  department
     9  of labor, the department of health, the division of housing and communi-
    10  ty  renewal,  the  office  of  addiction  services and supports, and the
    11  department of education, serving as non-voting ex-officio  members.  The
    12  governor shall have [seven] eleven appointments, the temporary president
    13  of  the  senate  and the speaker of the assembly shall each have [three]
    14  four appointments to the board.  The members shall be appointed to  each
    15  serve  three year terms and in the event of a vacancy, the vacancy shall
    16  be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the remainder of
    17  the term. The appointed members and  representatives  shall  receive  no
    18  compensation  for  their  services but shall be allowed their actual and
    19  necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as  board
    20  members.
    21    3.  Advisory  board  members shall have statewide geographic represen-
    22  tation that is  balanced  and  diverse  in  its  composition.  Appointed
    23  members  shall  have  an  expertise  in  public  and  behavioral health,
    24  substance use disorder treatment, effective rehabilitative treatment for
    25  adults and juveniles, homelessness and  housing,  economic  development,
    26  environmental   conservation,   job  training  and  placement,  criminal
    27  justice, and drug policy. Further,  the  advisory  board  shall  include
    28  residents  from  communities  most impacted by cannabis prohibition, one
    29  retail licensee, one processor licensee, one representative of organized
    30  labor, one microbusiness licensee, one distributor licensee, one service
    31  disabled veteran  licensee,  one  cultivator  licensee,  one  registered
    32  organization  licensee, people with prior drug convictions, the formerly
    33  incarcerated, and representatives from the  farming  industry,  cannabis
    34  industry, and organizations serving communities impacted by past federal
    35  and state drug policies.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.