Senate Bill S7274

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7274

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the cannabis law, in relation to requiring applicants
for a permit, registration, or license issued by the cannabis control
board to report any relevant law enforcement interactions that occur
during the application review process

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would amend the cannabis law by adding a new section that
requires applicants to report any law enforcement interactions that
occur during the application review process

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: :

Section 1 adds section 128-a to the cannabis law which requires an
applicant for a permit, registration, or license issued under the canna-
bis law chapter to report any law enforcement interactions relevant to
their application. A failure to report any law enforcement interaction
              

would result in denial or revocation of the permit, registration, or
license.

Section 2 sets the enacting date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would require applicants to report law enforcement inter-
actions during the application review period. This would close a loop-
hole allowing permits, registrations, and licenses to be issued to indi-
viduals who should not qualify for them under the spirit of the law.

This loophole has led to several cases of individuals who committed
crimes during their application review period still being issued
permits. In one case, an applicant for a microbusiness cannabis license
in the City of Amsterdam was charged with selling cannabis to an under-
aged agent during the review period. Despite these charges, the appli-
cant was still awarded a license due to this gap in the cannabis law.

When the recreational consumption of cannabis was legalized in New York,
the licensing process that was created intended to provide reparations
to those who had been harshly prosecuted for minor marijuana infractions
in the past by prioritizing them in the licensing process; the intent
was not to allocate licenses to those with pending criminal cases. This
legislation would improve the cannabis law by closing a loophole that is
a clear perversion of its original intent.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately