2023 New York Laws › CAN - Cannabis › Article 4 - Adult-Use Cannabis › 68-C - Conditional Adult-Use Cultivator License.

* §  68-c.  Conditional adult-use cultivator license. 1. A conditional
adult-use  cultivator   license   shall   be   subject   to   the   same
authorizations,  restrictions  and requirements applied to any adult-use
cultivator pursuant to section  sixty-eight  of  this  article  for  the
duration of the conditional period of the license, as well as to any new
terms and conditions imposed by the board and office.
2.  To  be  eligible  to  apply for a conditional adult-use cultivator
license, a cultivator must:
(a) have held a valid industrial hemp grower  authorization  from  the
department  of agriculture and markets, as of December thirty-first, two
thousand twenty-one, which authorized the growing of  cannabinoid  hemp,
and is in good standing with the department of agriculture and markets;
(b)  have  grown  and harvested hemp for at least two of the past four
years pursuant to that license and be able to provide proof, as  defined
by  the  office,  of  the amount of hemp planted by the applicant during
each of the two years that hemp was grown; and
(c) as an individual applicant have an ownership interest of fifty-one
percent or more, or as any other applicant have an ownership interest of
fifty-one percent or more of the entity that is the licensee.
3. A conditional adult-use  cultivator  license  shall  authorize  the
cultivation  of  cannabis  outdoors or in a greenhouse with no more than
twenty artificial lights unless otherwise authorized by  the  office.  A
conditional   adult-use   cultivator   licensee   may  cultivate  up  to
forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet of flowering  canopy
outdoors  or  twenty-five  thousand square feet of flowering canopy in a
greenhouse. A cultivator may cultivate both outdoors and in a greenhouse
provided  the  flowering  canopy  in   a   greenhouse   is   less   than
twenty-thousand  square  feet and the total flowering canopy is equal to
or less than thirty-thousand square feet.
4. A conditional adult-use cultivator licensee must  comply  with  any
environmental standards and requirements mandated by the office.
5. The cultivation of cannabis shall only be permitted within the same
or  an  adjacent  county  in  which the conditional adult-use cultivator
licensee had previously been authorized by the department of agriculture
and markets to grow hemp.
6.  A  conditional  adult-use  cultivator  licensee  shall  have   the
temporary   authority  to  minimally  process  and  distribute  cannabis
products, provided that such final products shall  be  in  the  form  of
cannabis  flower,  without holding an adult-use processor or distributor
license established pursuant to sections sixty-nine and  seventy-one  of
this  article; provided that the licensee complies with all requirements
for the processing and distribution of cannabis products as set  out  by
the  board  in  regulations  or  in  the  terms  and  conditions  of the
conditional license. Such authority to minimally process and  distribute
cannabis products expires on June first, two thousand twenty-four. After
June   first,   two  thousand  twenty-four,  any  conditional  adult-use
cultivator seeking to process and distribute cannabis products shall  be
required to apply for and receive a processor and distributor license to
conduct this activity.
7.  For  the  duration  of  the  conditional period of the conditional
adult-use cultivator license, the ownership or organizational  structure
of the entity that is the licensee shall not be amended, except pursuant
to  the  provisions  of  subdivisions  two,  three  and  four of section
sixty-seven of this article.
8. The office shall set out specific terms and conditions setting  out
requirements   necessary  to  be  awarded  and  maintain  a  conditional
adult-use  cultivator  license,  including  but  not  limited   to   the
requirement  that  a  licensee agrees to participate in an environmental

sustainability program and a  social  equity  mentorship  program.  Such
mentorship  program shall be directed to train individuals interested in
becoming licensed cultivators and shall leverage  remote  and  in-person
mentees  with experience in agriculture business management, sustainable
cannabis cultivation, and best practices. Candidates for the  mentorship
program must be at least eighteen years of age, must be a New York state
resident, and must be individuals that would be considered social equity
applicants  as  defined  by  section  eighty-seven  of this article. The
license terms and  conditions  set  out  by  the  office  shall  include
requirements  that  a licensee enter into a labor peace agreement with a
bona-fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing or
attempting to represent the applicant's employees within six  months  of
licensure,  that  the maintenance of such labor peace agreement shall be
an ongoing material condition of licensure,  and  that  licensees  shall
meet any other eligibility requirements established by the office.
9.  The board shall establish a non-refundable application and license
fee, in a manner consistent with section sixty-three  of  this  article,
for  the conditional adult-use cultivator license. No such license shall
be issued after December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two and  such
license  shall  only  be  valid  through  June  thirtieth,  two thousand
twenty-four.
10. A conditional adult-use cultivator license shall be deemed to have
been surrendered to the board and  a  conditional  adult-use  cultivator
licensee  shall  be  deemed not to be in good standing, as determined in
the discretion of the executive director in a written notice,  effective
upon  delivery  to  the licensee at the licensee's last known address on
file with the office, for reasons including but not limited to:
(a)  failure  to  abide  by  all  the  terms  and  conditions  of  the
conditional adult-use cultivator license;
(b)  failure  to adhere to all requirements set out in regulations and
guidance, including those promulgated after  receiving  the  conditional
adult-use cultivator license;
(c) failure to submit information, records, or reports;
(d)  failure  to  correct  deficiencies in accordance with an approved
corrective action plan;
(e) deviation from regulations, licensing terms, or standard operating
procedures in a manner that the office determines may jeopardize  health
or safety of the public, or the quality of products grown or produced;
(f)  failure  to provide office employees with access to the premises;
and
(g) failure to begin operations within six months of the date  of  the
issuance of the license.
11. A licensee whose conditional adult-use cultivator license has been
deemed  surrendered  may  within  ten  days of the delivery date of such
notice appeal the determination of the executive director to  the  board
pursuant  to  subdivision  eighteen  of section ten of this chapter. The
board shall have sole discretion to determine the conduct of the appeal,
which shall include notice and an opportunity to be heard.  Upon  review
by  the board, the board shall issue a final written determination which
may then be reviewed pursuant to section one hundred thirty-five of this
chapter and article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
12. In the event that  a  conditional  adult-use  cultivator  licensee
elects  to  cease  operation of all permitted activities or to surrender
its license, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) the conditional adult-use cultivator  licensee  shall  notify  the
office  in writing at least thirty days prior to the anticipated date of
closure;
(b) such written notice shall include a proposed plan for closure. The
plan shall be subject to office approval and  shall  include  timetables
and  describe  the  procedures  and  actions  the licensee shall take to
properly destroy or otherwise dispose of all the  licensee's  supply  of
cannabis and/or cannabis products; and
(c)  the  licensee or former licensee must maintain and make available
to the office all records related to the cultivation of cannabis  for  a
period of three years.
13.  No  later than ninety days before the expiration of a conditional
adult-use cultivator license, the office shall, pursuant to a request by
the licensee, review the conditional adult-use  cultivator  licensee  to
determine  whether  they  are  in  good  standing  with the office. Good
standing  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  compliance   with
subdivision  seven  of  this  section.  Any licensee found to be in good
standing shall be  eligible  to  apply  for  and  receive  an  adult-use
cultivation  license, provided the licensee can meet all requirements of
the new license. Such a licensee will receive, at minimum, an  adult-use
cultivator  license  for  the  size  of  flowering canopy that they were
licensed to grow pursuant  to  their  conditional  adult-use  cultivator
license  or  a  larger  size  flowering  canopy and authorization to use
artificial light as may be  set  out  by  the  board  in  regulation.  A
licensee  may  not  separately  apply  for  any  license type under this
article permitting the cultivation of adult-use cannabis while holding a
conditional adult-use cultivator license.
14. For the purposes of this section, the office has the authority  to
define  terms  including  but  not  limited  to  "greenhouse", "immature
plant", "flowering canopy" as part of the terms and  conditions  of  the
conditional adult-use cultivator license.
15.  Nothing  herein shall limit the authority, power, or other rights
or remedies of the board or office.
* NB Repealed June 30, 2024