NY Cannabis § 87 (2021)
2021 New York Laws CAN - Cannabis Article 4 - Adult-Use Cannabis 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 alien 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 aliens 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 seventeen-B of the executive 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.