2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 21a - Consumer Protection › Chapter 420h - Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis › Section 21a-422k. - Notification to Attorney General of material change to cannabis establishment required. Waiting period. Request for additional information, confidentiality of information or documentary material. Civil penalty.

(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Material change” means: (A) The addition of a backer, (B) a change in the ownership interest of an existing backer, (C) the merger, consolidation or other affiliation of a cannabis establishment with another cannabis establishment, (D) the acquisition of all or part of a cannabis establishment by another cannabis establishment or backer, and (E) the transfer of assets or security interests from a cannabis establishment to another cannabis establishment or backer;
(2) “Cannabis establishment” has the same meaning as provided in section 21a-420;
(3) “Person” has the same meaning as provided in section 21a-420; and
(4) “Transfer” means to sell, transfer, lease, exchange, option, convey, give or otherwise dispose of or transfer control over, including, but not limited to, transfer by way of merger or joint venture not in the ordinary course of business.
(b) No person shall, directly or indirectly, enter into a transaction that results in a material change to a cannabis establishment, unless all parties involved in the transaction file a written notification with the Attorney General pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and the waiting period described in subsection (d) of this section has expired.
(c) The written notice required under subsection (b) of this section shall be in such form and contain such documentary material and information relevant to the proposed transaction as the Attorney General deems necessary and appropriate to enable the Attorney General to determine whether such transaction, if consummated, would violate antitrust laws.
(d) The waiting period required under subsection (b) of this section shall begin on the date of the receipt by the Attorney General's office of the completed notification required under subsection (c) of this section from all parties to the transaction and shall end on the thirtieth day after the date of such receipt, unless such time is extended pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(e) The Attorney General may, in individual cases, terminate the waiting period specified in subsection (d) of this section and allow any person to proceed with any transaction.
(f) The Attorney General may, prior to the expiration of the thirty-day waiting period, require the submission of additional information or documentary material relevant to the proposed transaction from a person required to file notification with respect to such transaction under subsection (b) of this section. Upon request for additional information under this subsection, the waiting period shall be extended until thirty days after the parties have substantially complied, as determined solely by the Attorney General, with such request for additional information.
(g) Any information or documentary material filed with the Attorney General pursuant to this section shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, and no such information or documentary material may be made public, except as may be relevant to any administrative or judicial action or proceeding. Such information or documentary material shall be returned to the person furnishing such information or documentary material upon the termination of the Attorney General's review or final determination of any action or proceeding commenced thereunder.
(h) (1) Any person, or any officer, director or partner thereof, who fails to comply with any provision of this section shall be liable to the state for a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each day during which such person is in violation of this section. Such penalty may be recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General.
(2) If any person, or any officer, director, partner, agent or employee thereof, fails substantially to comply with the notification requirement under subsection (b) of this section or any request for the submission of additional information or documentary material under subsection (f) of this section within the waiting period specified in subsection (d) of this section and as may be extended under subsection (f) of this section, the court:
(A) May order compliance;
(B) Shall extend the waiting period specified in subsection (d) of this section and as may have been extended under subsection (f) of this section until there has been substantial compliance, except that, in the case of a tender offer, the court may not extend such waiting period on the basis of a failure, by the person whose stock is sought to be acquired, to comply substantially with such notification requirement or any such request; and
(C) May grant such other equitable relief as the court in its discretion determines necessary or appropriate, upon application of the Attorney General.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1, S. 61.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-1 effective July 1, 2021.