N.Y. Cannabis Law § 87: Social and economic equity, minority and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans; incubator program

§ 87. Social and economic equity, minority and women-owned businesses,

distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans; incubator program. 1.

The board, in consultation with the chief equity officer and executive

director, and after receiving public input shall create and implement a

social and economic equity plan and actively promote applicants from

communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and

promote racial, ethnic, and gender diversity when issuing licenses for

adult-use cannabis related activities, including mentoring potential

applicants, by prioritizing consideration of applications by applicants

who are from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement

of cannabis prohibition or who qualify as a minority or women-owned

business, distressed farmers, or service-disabled veterans. Such

qualifications shall be determined by the board, with recommendations

from the state cannabis advisory board, the chief equity officer and

executive director, by regulation.

2. The board's social and economic equity plan shall also promote

diversity in commerce, ownership and employment, and opportunities for

social and economic equity in the adult-use cannabis industry. A goal

shall be established to award fifty percent of adult-use cannabis

licenses to social and economic equity applicants and ensure inclusion

of:

(a) individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the

enforcement of cannabis prohibition;

(b) minority-owned businesses;

(c) women-owned businesses;

(d) minority and women-owned businesses, as defined in paragraph (d)

of subdivision five of this section;

(e) distressed farmers, as defined in subdivision five of this

section; and

(f) service-disabled veterans.

3. The social and economic equity plan shall require the consideration

of additional criteria in its licensing determinations. Under the social

and economic equity plan, extra priority shall be given to applications

that demonstrate that an applicant:

(a) is a member of a community disproportionately impacted by the

enforcement of cannabis prohibition;

(b) has an income lower than eighty percent of the median income of

the county in which the applicant resides; and

(c) was convicted of a marihuana-related offense prior to the

effective date of this chapter, or had a parent, guardian, child,

spouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual who, prior to

the effective date of this chapter, was convicted of a marihuana-related

offense.

4. The board in consultation with the cannabis advisory board and the

chief equity officer, shall also create an incubator program to

encourage social and economic equity applicants to apply and, if granted

an adult-use cannabis license, permit or registration, the program shall

provide direct support in the form of counseling services, education,

small business coaching and financial planning, and compliance

assistance.

5. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall

apply:

(a) "Minority-owned business" shall mean a business enterprise,

including a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company

or corporation that is:

(i) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more minority group

members;

(ii) an enterprise in which such minority ownership is real,

substantial and continuing;

(iii) an enterprise in which such minority ownership has and exercises

the authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions

of the enterprise;

(iv) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and

independently owned and operated; and

(v) an enterprise that is a small business.

(b) "Minority group member" shall mean a United States citizen or

permanent resident noncitizen who is and can demonstrate membership in

one of the following groups:

(i) black persons having origins in any of the black African racial

groups;

(ii) Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban,

Central or South American of either Indian or Hispanic origin,

regardless of race;

(iii) Native American or Alaskan native persons having origins in any

of the original peoples of North America; or

(iv) Asian and Pacific Islander persons having origins in any of the

far east countries, south east Asia, the Indian subcontinent or the

Pacific islands.

(c) "Women-owned business" shall mean a business enterprise, including

a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company or

corporation that is:

(i) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more United States

citizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are women;

(ii) an enterprise in which the ownership interest of such women is

real, substantial and continuing;

(iii) an enterprise in which such women ownership has and exercises

the authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions

of the enterprise;

(iv) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and

independently owned and operated; and

(v) an enterprise that is a small business.

(d) A firm owned by a minority group member who is also a woman may be

defined as a minority-owned business, a women-owned business, or both.

(e) "Distressed farmer" shall mean: (i) a New York state resident or

business enterprise, including a sole proprietorship, partnership,

limited liability company or corporation, that meets the small farm

classification developed by the Economic Research Service of the United

States Department of Agriculture, has filed a schedule F with farm

receipts for the last three years, qualifies for an agriculture

assessment and meets other qualifications defined in regulation by the

board to demonstrate that they operate a farm operation as defined in

section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law and has

been disproportionately impacted, including but not limited to incurring

operating losses, by low commodity prices and faces the loss of farmland

through development or suburban sprawl and meets any other

qualifications as defined in regulation by board; or (ii) a New York

state resident or business enterprise, including a sole proprietorship,

partnership, limited liability company or corporation, that is a small

farm operator and a member of a group that has been historically

underrepresented in farm ownership and meets any other qualifications as

defined in regulation by board.

(f) "Service-disabled veterans" shall mean persons qualified under

article three of the veterans' services law.

(g) "Communities disproportionately impacted" shall mean, but not be

limited to, a history of arrests, convictions, and other law enforcement

practices in a certain geographic area, such as, but not limited to,

precincts, zip codes, neighborhoods, and political subdivisions,

reflecting a disparate enforcement of cannabis prohibition during a

certain time period, when compared to the rest of the state. The board

shall, with recommendations from the state cannabis advisory board, the

chief equity officer and executive director, issue guidelines to

determine how to assess which communities have been disproportionately

impacted and how to assess if someone is a member of a community

disproportionately impacted.

6. The board shall actively promote applicants that foster racial,

ethnic, and gender diversity in their workforce.

7. Licenses issued under the social and economic equity plan shall not

be transferred or sold within the first three years of issue, except to

a qualified social and economic equity applicant and with the prior

written approval of the board. In the event a social and economic equity

applicant seeks to transfer or sell their license at any point after

issue and the transferee is to a person or entity that does not qualify

as a social and economic equity applicant, the transfer agreement shall

require the new license holder to pay to the board any outstanding

amount owed by the transferor to the board as repayment of any loan

issued by the board as well as any other fee or assessment as determined

by the board.