NY State Senate Bill 2021-S7603

Senate Bill S7603

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Ensures inclusion of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the award of adult-use cannabis licenses

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 07, 2022	reference changed to investigations and government operations
Jan 05, 2022	referred to rules
Dec 15, 2021	referred to rules

2021-S7603 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Cannabis Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §87, Cannabis L

2021-S7603 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the cannabis board's social and equity plan to promote diversity in commerce, ownership and employment, and opportunities for social and economic equity in the adult-use cannabis industry and to award fifty percent of adult-use cannabis licenses to social and economic equity applicants and ensure inclusion of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.

2021-S7603 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7603

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the cannabis law, in relation to ensure the inclusion of
lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the award of adult-use canna-
bis licenses

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one adds lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals to the list of
social and economic equity applicants.

Section two provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Earlier this year, New York took the historic step of legalizing adult-
use cannabis. This legislation, in part, created a social and economic
equity program to encourage those most disproportionately impacted by
cannabis enforcement to participate in this new industry.  To that end,

there is a goal for 50% of the licenses under this program to be granted
to social and economic equity applicants. The social and economic equity
plan is intended to provide priority in licensing to individuals from
communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis
prohibition, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, certi-
fied MWBEs, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans.

This bill will include lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the
social and economic equity plan giving them priority in licensing.  This
state has recognized that discrimination on the basis on sexual orien-
tation is a violation of human rights law. The social equity aspect of
the MRTA is meant to uplift historically marginalized groups through
economic opportunities in the cannabis industry and this bill furthers
that effort.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S7603 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7603
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             December 15, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to ensure the inclusion of
   lesbian, gay, and bisexual  individuals  in  the  award  of  adult-use
   cannabis licenses

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 87 of the cannabis law is  amended
 to read as follows:
   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; AND
   (G) LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL INDIVIDUALS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14035-01-1

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