Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Eligibility for adult-use cannabis
licenses. An applicant for an adult-use cannabis license pursuant to article 4
of the Cannabis Law shall satisfy the following minimum requirements to be
eligible for a license:
(1) An applicant
shall provide information in a form and manner as prescribed by the Board,
which shall demonstrate the eligibility for the license type being sought;
and
(2) In order to apply for a
ROND or a ROD license, a registered organization shall be in good standing with
the Office and have four (4) medical dispensing sites, located in New York
State, dispensing to patients and submit the following:
(i) a community impact plan as described in
section 121.4 of this Title;
(ii) the plans described in Part 125 of this
Title as required by the Board on the application;
(iii) any other information required by the
Office.
(b)
Applicant Review. An applicant for an adult-use cannabis license shall be
reviewed and evaluated in an order and manner determined by the Board, based on
provisional, social and economic equity status or any additional criteria to be
set by the Board at the time of the opening of the application period. Such
criteria may include, but is not limited to:
(1) the selection criteria detailed in
section
64 of the Cannabis
Law;
(2) the applicant's community
impact plan, as defined in section
121.4 of this Title, highlighting
the applicant's proposed strategy for community engagement;
(3) submissions of any plans pursuant to Part
125 of this Title required by the Board, demonstrating planned compliance with
standards and regulations, and highlighting technologies, techniques, and
strategies to protect the surrounding environment, limit carbon footprint, and
leverage sustainable energy sources;
(4) completion of any workforce or training
programs offered by the Office and completed by the applicant;
(5) the applicant's history in creating or
maintaining an equitable workplace environment through the review of previous
business and management practices, including, but not limited to:
(i) wages, including, but not limited to:
(a) starting hourly rates for hourly
workers;
(b) starting salary for
salaried workers; and
(c) average
annual wage percent increases in the last three (3) years by classification of
employee;
(ii) benefits,
including, but not limited to:
(a) number of
hourly employees with 100% employer paid medical premiums;
(b) number of hourly employees receiving
Family, Single +1 coverage;
(c)
number of hourly employees with employee co-contributions for medical coverage;
or
(d) employer paid retirement
benefits such as 401(k) match or direct contributions; (iii) training,
including, but not limited to, health and safety training;
(iv) retention rates; and
(v) diversity in hiring and
promotion.
(6) history
in creating or delivering culturally and linguistically competent services to
diverse and underserved populations, including, but not limited to:
(i) training programs;
(ii) multilingual services;
(iii) published materials and
curricula;
(iv) community
outreach;
(v) administrative and
organizational accommodations; and
(vi) any other criteria deemed necessary by
the Office;
(7) serving
in community leadership roles within established and licensed businesses,
nonprofits, religious organizations, educational institutions, philanthropic
organizations, community clubs, neighborhood associations, cooperative
development and bona fide labor organization and any other qualifications
deemed sufficient by the Office;
(8) supporting evidence that demonstrates the
applicant's ability, capacity, and any initial steps taken to meet the Board's
standards for the plans in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this
subdivision;
(9) the relative
performance of applicants based on such criteria;
(10) for applications from entities with
twenty-five (25) or more employees, the Office shall give consideration to
whether applicants have entered into an agreement with a statewide or local
bona-fide building and construction trades organization for construction work
on its licensed facilities;
(11)
the applicant's qualifications for provisional licensing status; and
(12) any other information requested by the
Office.
(c) Approval.
The Board may approve licenses using mechanisms, including, but not limited to,
scoring, compliance-based evaluation, qualified lottery, randomized ordering,
or any combination thereof.
(1) The Board will
determine the eligibility criteria for each license type, including provisional
licenses.
(2) The Board may
prioritize application submission, review, selection and issuance by region,
license type, provisional status, social and economic equity status, or any
other criteria the Board may determine.
(3) Application submission, review,
selection, and issuance may be prioritized by groupings consistent with section
87 of the Cannabis
Law, such as:
(i) A group consisting only of
applications that demonstrate the applicants are eligible for extra priority as
defined in section
121.1 of this Title provided the
applicant is seeking to qualify as a social and economic equity
applicant;
(ii) A group consisting
only of applications that meet the definition of distressed farmer as described
in subdivision (h) of section
121.1 of this Title;
(iii) A group consisting only of applications
that meet the definition of service-disabled veteran as described in
subdivision (i) of section
121.1 of this Title;
(iv) A group consisting only of applications
that demonstrate the applicant is from a community disproportionately impacted
by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition as described in subdivision (d) of
section 121.1 of this Title; and
(v) A group consisting of all other
applications not included in the categories in subparagraphs (i) through (iv)
of this paragraph.
(4)
Applications may be considered in multiple groups pursuant to their eligibility
for such groups.
(d) An
applicant shall submit the required license fee pursuant to section
120.4 of this Part upon Board
approval. Those who receive a provisional license shall only pay the license
fee upon licensure.
(e) If an
applicant is approved by the Board, the applicant shall be subsequently issued
a provisional license or license. Such provisional license or license shall be
subject to conditions specified by the Board.
(f) If a provisional licensee fails to
satisfy the conditions determined by the Board, the application will be deemed
incomplete and a license to operate will not be issued.
