2023 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  noncitizen 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 noncitizens 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 three of the veterans' services 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.