§ 20-15 — Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center application

(a) If the Department of Agriculture makes available additional cultivation center licenses pursuant to Section 20-5, applicants for a Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License shall electronically submit the following in such form as the Department of Agriculture may direct: (1) the nonrefundable application fee set by rule by the Department of Agriculture, to be deposited into the Cannabis Regulation Fund; (2) the legal name of the cultivation center; (3) the proposed physical address of the cultivation center; (4) the name, address, social security number, and date of birth of each principal officer and board member of the cultivation center; each principal officer and board member shall be at least 21 years of age; (5) the details of any administrative or judicial proceeding in which any of the principal officers or board members of the cultivation center (i) pled guilty, were convicted, were fined, or had a registration or license suspended or revoked, or (ii) managed or served on the board of a business or non-profit organization that pled guilty, was convicted, was fined, or had a registration or license suspended or revoked; (6) proposed operating bylaws that include procedures for the oversight of the cultivation center, including the development and implementation of a plant monitoring system, accurate recordkeeping, staffing plan, and security plan approved by the Illinois State Police that are in accordance with the rules issued by the Department of Agriculture under this Act. A physical inventory shall be performed of all plants and cannabis on a weekly basis by the cultivation center; (7) verification from the Illinois State Police that all background checks of the prospective principal officers, board members, and agents of the cannabis business establishment have been conducted; (8) a copy of the current local zoning ordinance or permit and verification that the proposed cultivation center is in compliance with the local zoning rules and distance limitations established by the local jurisdiction; (9) proposed employment practices, in which the applicant must demonstrate a plan of action to inform, hire, and educate minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities, engage in fair labor practices, and provide worker protections; (10) whether an applicant can demonstrate experience in or business practices that promote economic empowerment in Disproportionately Impacted Areas; (11) experience with the cultivation of agricultural or horticultural products, operating an agriculturally related business, or operating a horticultural business; (12) a description of the enclosed, locked facility where cannabis will be grown, harvested, manufactured, processed, packaged, or otherwise prepared for distribution to a dispensing organization; (13) a survey of the enclosed, locked facility, including the space used for cultivation; (14) cultivation, processing, inventory, and packaging plans; (15) a description of the applicant's experience with agricultural cultivation techniques and industry standards; (16) a list of any academic degrees, certifications, or relevant experience of all prospective principal officers, board members, and agents of the related business; (17) the identity of every person having a financial or voting interest of 5% or greater in the cultivation center operation with respect to which the license is sought, whether a trust, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or sole proprietorship, including the name and address of each person; (18) a plan describing how the cultivation center will address each of the following: (i) energy needs, including estimates of monthly electricity and gas usage, to what extent it will procure energy from a local utility or from on-site generation, and if it has or will adopt a sustainable energy use and energy conservation policy; (ii) water needs, including estimated water draw and if it has or will adopt a sustainable water use and water conservation policy; and (iii) waste management, including if it has or will adopt a waste reduction policy; (19) a diversity plan that includes a narrative of not more than 2,500 words that establishes a goal of diversity in ownership, management, employment, and contracting to ensure that diverse participants and groups are afforded equality of opportunity; (20) any other information required by rule; (21) a recycling plan: (A) Purchaser packaging, including cartridges, shall be accepted by the applicant and recycled. (B) Any recyclable waste generated by the cannabis cultivation facility shall be recycled per applicable State and local laws, ordinances, and rules. (C) Any cannabis waste, liquid waste, or hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance with 8 Ill. Adm. Code 1000.460, except, to the greatest extent feasible, all cannabis plant waste will be rendered unusable by grinding and incorporating the cannabis plant waste with compostable mixed waste to be disposed of in accordance with 8 Ill. Adm. Code 1000.460(g)(1); (22) commitment to comply with local waste provisions: a cultivation facility must remain in compliance with applicable State and federal environmental requirements, including, but not limited to: (A) storing, securing, and managing all recyclables and waste, including organic waste composed of or containing finished cannabis and cannabis products, in accordance with applicable State and local laws, ordinances, and rules; and (B) disposing liquid waste containing cannabis or byproducts of cannabis processing in compliance with all applicable State and federal requirements, including, but not limited to, the cannabis cultivation facility's permits under Title X of the Environmental Protection Act; and (23) a commitment to a technology standard for resource efficiency of the cultivation center facility. (A) A cannabis cultivation facility commits to use resources efficiently, including energy and water. For the following, a cannabis cultivation facility commits to meet or exceed the technology standard identified in items (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv), which may be modified by rule: (i) lighting systems, including light bulbs; (ii) HVAC system; (iii) water application system to the crop; and (iv) filtration system for removing contaminants from wastewater. (B) Lighting. The Lighting Power Densities (LPD) for cultivation space commits to not exceed an average of 36 watts per gross square foot of active and growing space canopy, or all installed lighting technology shall meet a photosynthetic photon efficacy (PPE) of no less than 2.2 micromoles per joule fixture and shall be featured on the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) Horticultural Specification Qualified Products List (QPL). In the event that DLC requirement for minimum efficacy exceeds 2.2 micromoles per joule fixture, that PPE shall become the new standard. (C) HVAC. (i) For cannabis grow operations with less than 6,000 square feet of canopy, the licensee commits that all HVAC units will be high-efficiency ductless split HVAC units, or other more energy efficient equipment. (ii) For cannabis grow operations with 6,000 square feet of canopy or more, the licensee commits that all HVAC units will be variable refrigerant flow HVAC units, or other more energy efficient equipment. (D) Water application. (i) The cannabis cultivation facility commits to use automated watering systems, including, but not limited to, drip irrigation and flood tables, to irrigate cannabis crop. (ii) The cannabis cultivation facility commits to measure runoff from watering events and report this volume in its water usage plan, and that on average, watering events shall have no more than 20% of runoff of water. (E) Filtration. The cultivator commits that HVAC condensate, dehumidification water, excess runoff, and other wastewater produced by the cannabis cultivation facility shall be captured and filtered to the best of the facility's ability to achieve the quality needed to be reused in subsequent watering rounds. (F) Reporting energy use and efficiency as required by rule. (b) Applicants must submit all required information, including the information required in Section 20-10, to the Department of Agriculture. Failure by an applicant to submit all required information may result in the application being disqualified. (c) If the Department of Agriculture receives an application with missing information, the Department of Agriculture may issue a deficiency notice to the applicant. The applicant shall have 10 calendar days from the date of the deficiency notice to resubmit the incomplete information. Applications that are still incomplete after this opportunity to cure will not be scored and will be disqualified. (d) (Blank). (e) A cultivation center that is awarded a Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License pursuant to the criteria in Section 20-20 shall not grow, purchase, possess, or sell cannabis or cannabis-infused products until the person has received an Adult Use Cultivation Center License issued by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to Section 20-21 of this Act.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)