Senate Bill S9426

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to proximity restrictions for adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption licenses

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 11, 2026	referred to investigations and government operations

co-Sponsors

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Cannabis Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§72 & 77, Cannabis L

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to proximity restrictions for adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption licenses; provides that such dispensaries shall not be located within 500 feet of a public library or an association library.

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9426

SPONSOR: BYNOE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the cannabis law, in relation to proximity restrictions
for adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption
licenses

 
PURPOSE:

Libraries are cornerstones of our communities, serving as centers for
learning, culture, and connection. This bill would strengthen their
protection by expanding current restrictions on adult-use cannabis
retail dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments to explicitly
include both public libraries and association libraries.  By treating
libraries like other sensitive community institutions, such as schools
and houses of worship, this legislation helps preserve the educational,
cultural, and community-focused role of libraries, while ensuring clear
and consistent statewide standards for the location of cannabis busi-
nesses.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1.

Subdivision 6 of section 72 of the cannabis law is amended by changing
sections (b) and (c) into sections (c) and (d)and adding a new section
(b), which reads as follows:

"(b) No premises with a license issued pursuant to this section, or
section sixty-eight-a of this article, or section seventy-three of this
article that allows for the retail sale of adult-use cannabis, shall be
located on the same street and within five hundred feet of a building
containing a public library or association library."

Section 1 of this bill also amends section (d) to include "public
library, association library" following "nearest entrance of such
school" and moves subsection (C) to (D) and adds the new subsection (C)
to read as follows: ("C) a door of a public library or association regu-
larly used to give ingress to the general public;"

Section 1 of this bill amends paragraph (ii) of subsection (D) by
following "the general public attending the house of worship" with new
language which reads: "the general public entering a public or associ-
ation library,"

Section 1 of this bill also amends paragraph (iii) of subsection (D) by
following "if the school," with new language which reads "public
library, association library"

Section 2.

Subdivision 4 of section 77 of the cannabis law is amended by adding
after the words "school grounds, as such term is defined in the educa-
tion law" the words "or either a public library or an association
library, as defined in section two hundred fifty-three of the education
law".

Section 3.

This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State's Cannabis Law establishes proximity restrictions between
adult-use cannabis dispensaries and certain sensitive community insti-
tutions, including schools and houses of worship, to protect minors and
preserve the character of neighborhood spaces dedicated to education,
reflection, and public service. However, current law does not extend
these protections to neither association libraries nor public libraries,
which serve as vital educational, cultural, and community hubs for resi-
dents of all ages.

Both association libraries and public libraries function as extensions
of the educational system and are frequently used by children, students,
families, seniors, and vulnerable populations for learning, research,
internet access, workforce development, and community programming. The
absence of libraries from existing proximity restrictions creates an
inconsistency in the statutory framework and undermines the State's
intent to thoughtfully site cannabis retail establishments away from
spaces primarily devoted to education and youth engagement.

This bill would correct that gap by expressly including "public
libraries" and "association libraries" within existing proximity
restrictions applicable to cannabis retail dispensaries, aligning canna-
bis siting rules with the State's broader public policy goals of
protecting educational environments and maintaining appropriate land-use
boundaries.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Legislation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9426
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 11, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BYNOE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to proximity  restrictions
   for  adult-use  cannabis  retail  dispensaries and on-site consumption
   licenses
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision 6 of section 72 of the cannabis law, as added
 by chapter 2 of the laws of 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   6. (a) No premises with a license issued pursuant to this section,  or
 section  sixty-eight-a of this article, or section seventy-three of this
 article that allows for the retail sale of adult-use cannabis, shall  be
 located  on  the  same street and within five hundred feet of a building
 containing a school OR A BUILDING CONTAINING A PUBLIC LIBRARY OR ASSOCI-
 ATION LIBRARY.
   (b) No premises with a license issued pursuant  to  this  section,  or
 section  sixty-eight-a of this article, or section seventy-three of this
 article that allows for the retail sale of adult-use cannabis, shall  be
 located  on  the  same  street and within two hundred feet of a building
 exclusively occupied as a house of worship.
   (c) The measurements in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision are
 to be taken in straight lines from the center of the nearest entrance of
 the premises sought to be licensed to the center of the nearest entrance
 of such school, PUBLIC LIBRARY  OR  ASSOCIATION  LIBRARY,  or  house  of
 worship.
   (d)  For  purposes  of this subdivision: (i) The word "entrance" shall
 mean: (A) a door of a school regularly used to give ingress to  students
 of  the  school; (B) a door of a house of worship regularly used to give
 ingress to the general public attending the house of worship; [or] (C) A
 DOOR OF A PUBLIC LIBRARY OR ASSOCIATION LIBRARY REGULARLY USED  TO  GIVE
 INGRESS  TO  THE GENERAL PUBLIC; OR (D) a door of the premises sought to
 be licensed regularly used to give ingress to customers  of  such  prem-
 ises.
   (ii) A door which has no exterior hardware, or which is used solely as
 an  emergency  or fire exit, or for maintenance or delivery purposes, or
 which leads directly to a part of  a  building  not  regularly  used  by

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14526-06-6
 S. 9426                             2
 
 students  of  the  school,  the  general  public  attending the house of
 worship, THE GENERAL PUBLIC ENTERING A  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  OR  ASSOCIATION
 LIBRARY,  or  customers  of  the  premises sought to be licensed, is not
 deemed an "entrance".
   (iii)  If  the  school,  PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASSOCIATION LIBRARY, house of
 worship or premises sought to be licensed is  set  back  from  a  public
 thoroughfare,  the  walkway  or stairs leading to any such door shall be
 deemed an entrance; and the measurement shall be taken to the center  of
 the  walkway  or stairs at the point where it meets the building line or
 public thoroughfare.
   (e)(i) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this subdivision,  a  building
 occupied  as a house of worship does not cease to be "exclusively" occu-
 pied as such by incidental uses that are not of a nature to detract from
 the predominant character of the building as a house of worship.
   (ii) Such uses include, but are not limited to:  (A)  the  conduct  of
 legally  authorized  games  of  bingo or other games of chance held as a
 means of raising funds for  the  not-for-profit  religious  organization
 which  conducts  services  at the house of worship or for other not-for-
 profit organizations or groups; (B) use of the building for fund-raising
 performances by or benefitting the not-for-profit religious organization
 which conducts services at the house of worship or other  not-for-profit
 organizations  or groups; (C) the use of the building by other religious
 organizations or groups for religious services or  other  purposes;  (D)
 the  conduct  of  social activities by or for the benefit of the congre-
 gants of the house of worship; (E) the use of the building for  meetings
 held  by  organizations  or  groups  providing bereavement counseling to
 persons having suffered the loss of a loved one, or providing advice  or
 support  for conditions or diseases including, but not limited to, alco-
 holism, drug addiction, cancer, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease,  or
 Alzheimer's  disease;  (F)  the  use  of  the building for blood drives,
 health screenings, health information meetings, yoga  classes,  exercise
 classes  or  other  activities  intended  to  promote  the health of the
 congregants or other persons; and (G) use of the building by non-congre-
 gant members of the community for private social functions.
   (iii) The building occupied as a house of worship does not cease to be
 "exclusively" occupied as such where the not-for-profit religious organ-
 ization occupying the house of worship accepts the payment of  funds  to
 defray costs related to another party's use of the building.
   (f)   No  renewal  of  a  license  shall  be  denied  because  of  the
 restrictions in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision.
   (g) When evaluating an application for compliance with  this  subdivi-
 sion,  the  proximity of the premises sought to be licensed to a school,
 PUBLIC LIBRARY, ASSOCIATION LIBRARY or house of worship shall be  deter-
 mined  based  on  the  date  such  applicant submits its location to the
 office.
   § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 77 of the cannabis  law  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   4.  No  applicant  shall  be  granted an adult-use on-site consumption
 license for any premises within five hundred feet of school grounds,  as
 such  term  is  defined  in the education law, OR A PUBLIC LIBRARY OR AN
 ASSOCIATION LIBRARY, AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN  SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED
 FIFTY-THREE  OF  THE  EDUCATION LAW, or two hundred feet from a house of
 worship.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become  a  law and shall apply to licenses issued on or after such
 date.

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Senate Bill S9426

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Siela A. Bynoe

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.

Leroy Comrie

Toby Ann Stavisky

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9426 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments