§ 137 — Persons forbidden to traffic cannabis; certain officials not to be interested in manufacture or sale of cannabis products

§ 137. Persons forbidden to traffic cannabis; certain officials not to\nbe interested in manufacture or sale of cannabis products. 1. The\nfollowing are forbidden to traffic in cannabis except in extraordinary\ncircumstances as determined by the board:\n (a) An individual who has been convicted of an offense related to the\nfunctions or duties of owning and operating a business within three\nyears of the application date, except that if the board determines that\nthe owner or licensee is otherwise suitable to be issued a license, and\nthe board determines granting the license is not inconsistent with\npublic safety, the board shall conduct a thorough review of the nature\nof the crime, conviction, circumstances and evidence of rehabilitation\nof the owner in accordance with article twenty-three-A of the correction\nlaw, and shall evaluate the suitability of the owner or licensee to be\nissued a license based on the evidence found through the review. In\ndetermining which offenses are substantially related to the functions or\nduties of owning and operating a business, the board shall include, but\nnot be limited to, the following:\n (i) a felony conviction within the past five years involving fraud,\nmoney laundering, forgery or other unlawful conduct related to owning\nand operating a business; and\n (ii) a felony conviction within the past five years for hiring,\nemploying, or using a minor in transporting, carrying, selling, giving\naway, preparing for sale, or peddling, any controlled substance to a\nminor; or selling, offering to sell, furnishing, offering to furnish,\nadministering, or giving any controlled substance to a minor.\n (b) A person under the age of twenty-one years;\n (c) A partnership or a corporation, unless each member of the\npartnership, or each of the principal officers and directors of the\ncorporation, is a citizen of the United States or a person lawfully\nadmitted for permanent residence in the United States, not less than\ntwenty-one years of age; provided however that a corporation which\notherwise conforms to the requirements of this section and chapter may\nbe licensed if each of its principal officers and more than one-half of\nits directors are citizens of the United States or persons lawfully\nadmitted for permanent residence in the United States; and provided\nfurther that a corporation organized under the not-for-profit\ncorporation law or the education law which otherwise conforms to the\nrequirements of this section and chapter may be licensed if each of its\nprincipal officers and directors are not less than twenty-one years of\nage; and provided, further, that a corporation organized under the\nnot-for-profit corporation law or the education law and located on the\npremises of a college as defined by section two of the education law\nwhich otherwise conforms to the requirements of this section and chapter\nmay be licensed if each of its principal officers and each of its\ndirectors are not less than twenty-one years of age;\n (d) A person who shall have had any registration or license issued\nunder this chapter revoked for cause, until the expiration of one year\nfrom the date of such revocation;\n (d-1) A person who has been found to have engaged in unlicensed,\nunregistered, or unpermitted conduct under this chapter, until three\nyears after such finding;\n (e) A person not registered or licensed under the provisions of this\nchapter, who has been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in violation\nof this chapter, until the expiration of one year from the date of such\nconviction; or\n (f) A corporation or partnership, if any officer and director or any\npartner, while not licensed under the provisions of this chapter, has\nbeen convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in violation of this chapter,\nor has had a registration or license issued under this chapter revoked\nfor cause, until the expiration of up to one year from the date of such\nconviction or revocation as determined by the board.\n 2. Except as may otherwise be provided for in regulation, it shall be\nunlawful for any chief of police, police officer or subordinate of any\npolice department in the state, to be either directly or indirectly\ninterested in the cultivation, processing, distribution, or sale of\ncannabis products or to offer for sale, or recommend to any registered\norganization or licensee any cannabis products. A person may not be\ndenied any registration or license granted under the provisions of this\nchapter solely on the grounds of being the spouse or domestic partner of\na public servant described in this section. The solicitation or\nrecommendation made to any registered organization or licensee, to\npurchase any cannabis products by any police official or subordinate as\nhereinabove described, shall be presumptive evidence of the interest of\nsuch official or subordinate in the cultivation, processing,\ndistribution, or sale of cannabis products.\n 3. No elected village officer shall be subject to the limitations set\nforth in subdivision two of this section unless such elected village\nofficer shall be assigned duties directly relating to the operation or\nmanagement of the police department.\n