N.Y. Cannabis Law § 35: Registering of registered organizations

§ 35. Registering of registered organizations. 1. (a) An applicant for

registration as a registered organization under section thirty-four of

this article shall include such information prepared in such manner and

detail as the board may require, including but not limited to:

(i) a description of the activities in which it intends to engage as a

registered organization;

(ii) that the applicant:

(A) is of good moral character;

(B) possesses or has the right to use sufficient land, buildings, and

other premises, which shall be specified in the application, and

equipment to properly carry on the activity described in the

application, or in the alternative posts a bond of not less than two

million dollars;

(C) is able to maintain effective security and control to prevent

diversion, abuse, and other illegal conduct relating to the cannabis;

and

(D) is able to comply with all applicable state laws and regulations

relating to the activities in which it intends to engage under the

registration;

(iii) that the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement with

a bona fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing

or attempting to represent the applicant's employees and the maintenance

of such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition

of certification;

(iv) the applicant's status as a for-profit business entity or

not-for-profit corporation; and

(v) the application shall include the name, residence address and

title of each of the officers and directors and the name and residence

address of any person or entity that is a member of the applicant. Each

such person, if an individual, or lawful representative if a legal

entity, shall submit an affidavit with the application setting forth:

(A) any position of management, interest or ownership during the

preceding ten years of a ten per centum or greater interest in any other

cannabis business, or applicant, located in or outside this state,

manufacturing or distributing drugs including indirect management,

interest, or ownership of parent companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates;

(B) whether such person or any such business has been convicted of a

felony or had a registration or license suspended or revoked in any

administrative or judicial proceeding, and if applicable, the history of

violations or administrative penalties with respect to any license to

cultivate, manufacture, distribute or sell adult-use cannabis or medical

cannabis; and

(C) such other information as the board may reasonably require.

2. The applicant shall be under a continuing duty to report to the

office any change in facts or circumstances reflected in the application

or any newly discovered or occurring fact or circumstance which is

required to be included in the application.

3. (a) The board shall grant a registration or amendment to a

registration under this section if they are satisfied that:

(i) the applicant will be able to maintain effective control against

diversion of cannabis;

(ii) the applicant will be able to comply with all applicable state

laws;

(iii) the applicant and its officers are ready, willing and able to

properly carry on the manufacturing or distributing activity for which a

registration is sought;

(iv) the applicant possesses or has the right to use sufficient land,

buildings and equipment to properly carry on the activity described in

the application;

(v) it is in the public interest that such registration be granted,

including but not limited to:

(A) whether the number of registered organizations in an area will be

adequate or excessive to reasonably serve the area;

(B) whether the registered organization is a minority and/or woman

owned business enterprise, a service-disabled veteran-owned business, or

from communities disproportionally impacted by the enforcement of

cannabis prohibition;

(C) whether the registered organization provides education and

outreach to practitioners;

(D) whether the registered organization promotes the research and

development of medical cannabis and patient outreach;

(E) the affordability of medical cannabis products offered by the

registered organization;

(F) whether the registered organization is culturally, linguistically,

and medically competent to provide services to unserved and underserved

areas; and

(G) whether the registered organization promotes racial, ethnic, and

gender diversity in their workforce;

(vi) the applicant and its managing officers are of good moral

character;

(vii) the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement with a

bona fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing or

attempting to represent the applicant's employees; and the maintenance

of such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition

of registration; and

(viii) the applicant satisfies any other conditions as determined by

the board.

(b) If the board is not satisfied that the applicant should be issued

a registration, he or she shall notify the applicant in writing of those

factors upon which further evidence is required. Within thirty days of

the receipt of such notification, the applicant may submit additional

material to the board or demand a hearing, or both.

(c) The fee for a registration under this section shall be an amount

determined by the board in regulations; provided, however, if the

registration is issued for a period greater than two years the fee shall

be increased, pro rata, for each additional month of validity.

(d) Registrations issued under this section shall be effective only

for the registered organization and shall specify:

(i) the name and address of the registered organization;

(ii) which activities of a registered organization are permitted by

the registration;

(iii) the land, buildings and facilities that may be used for the

permitted activities of the registered organization; and

(iv) such other information as the board shall reasonably provide to

assure compliance with this article.

(e) Upon application of a registered organization, a registration may

be amended to allow the registered organization to relocate within the

state or to add or delete permitted registered organization activities

or facilities. The fee for such amendment shall be determined by the

board in regulation and be based off the administrative burden to

process and review the amendment by the office, provided no fee shall be

greater than two thousand dollars.

4. A registration issued under this section shall be valid for two

years from the date of issue, except that in order to facilitate the

renewals of such registrations, the board may upon the initial

application for a registration, issue some registrations which may

remain valid for a period of time greater than two years but not

exceeding an additional eleven months.

5. (a) An application for the renewal of any registration issued under

this section shall be filed with the board not more than six months nor

less than four months prior to the expiration thereof. A late-filed

application for the renewal of a registration may, in the discretion of

the board, be treated as an application for an initial license.

(b) The application for renewal shall include such information

prepared in the manner and detail as the board may require, including

but not limited to:

(i) any material change in the circumstances or factors listed in

subdivision one of this section; and

(ii) every known charge or investigation, pending or concluded during

the period of the registration, by any governmental or administrative

agency with respect to:

(A) each incident or alleged incident involving the theft, loss, or

possible diversion of medical cannabis manufactured or distributed by

the applicant; and

(B) compliance by the applicant with the laws of the state with

respect to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, or sale of

medical cannabis or adult-use cannabis, where applicable.

(c) An applicant for renewal shall be under a continuing duty to

report to the board any change in facts or circumstances reflected in

the application or any newly discovered or occurring fact or

circumstance which is required to be included in the application and to

obtain approval prior to any material change in management, interest or

ownership.

(d) If the board is not satisfied that the registered organization

applicant is entitled to a renewal of the registration, the board shall

within a reasonably practicable time as determined by the executive

director, serve upon the registered organization or its attorney of

record in person or by registered or certified mail an order directing

the registered organization to show cause why its application for

renewal should not be denied. The order shall specify in detail the

respects in which the applicant has not satisfied the board that the

registration should be renewed.

(e) Within a reasonably practicable time as determined by the board of

such order, the applicant may submit additional material to the board or

demand a hearing or both; if a hearing is demanded the board shall fix a

date as soon as reasonably practicable.

6. (a) The board shall renew a registration unless he or she

determines and finds that:

(i) the applicant is unlikely to maintain or be able to maintain

effective control against diversion;

(ii) the applicant is unlikely to comply with all state laws

applicable to the activities in which it may engage under the

registration;

(iii) it is not in the public interest to renew the registration

because the number of registered organizations in an area is excessive

to reasonably serve the area;

(iv) the applicant has either violated or terminated its labor peace

agreement; or

(v) the applicant has substantively violated the laws of another

jurisdiction, in which they operate or have operated a cannabis license

or registration, related to the operation of a cannabis business.

(b) For purposes of this section, proof that a registered

organization, during the period of its registration, has failed to

maintain effective control against diversion, violates any provision of

this article, or has knowingly or negligently failed to comply with

applicable state laws relating to the activities in which it engages

under the registration, may constitute grounds for suspension,

termination or limitation of the registered organization's registration

or as determined by the board. The registered organization shall also

be under a continuing duty to report to the office any material change

or fact or circumstance to the information provided in the registered

organization's application.

7. The board may suspend or terminate the registration of a registered

organization, on grounds and using procedures under this article

relating to a license, to the extent consistent with this article. The

board shall suspend or terminate the registration in the event that a

registered organization violates or terminates the applicable labor

peace agreement. Conduct in compliance with this article which may

violate conflicting federal law, shall not be grounds to suspend or

terminate a registration.

8. A registered organization that manufactures medical cannabis may

have no more than four dispensing sites wholly owned and operated by

such registered organization. Such registered organization may have an

additional four dispensing sites; provided, however, that the first two

additional dispensing sites shall be located in underserved or unserved

geographic locations, as determined by the board. The board shall ensure

that such registered organizations and dispensing sites are

geographically distributed across the state and that their ownership

reflects the demographics of the state.

9. In coordination with the chief equity officer the board shall

register additional registered organizations to provide services to

unserved and underserved areas of the state. Pursuant to the social and

economic equity plan established by section eighty-seven of this

chapter, those additional registered organizations shall be reflective

of the demographics of the state, be representative of communities

disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and be culturally,

linguistically, and medically competent to serve unserved and

underserved areas of the state. The board shall actively promote racial,

ethnic, and gender diversity when registering additional registered

organizations.