§ 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,\ndistressed farmers and service-disabled veterans; incubator program. 1.\nThe board, in consultation with the chief equity officer and executive\ndirector, and after receiving public input shall create and implement a\nsocial and economic equity plan and actively promote applicants from\ncommunities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and\npromote racial, ethnic, and gender diversity when issuing licenses for\nadult-use cannabis related activities, including mentoring potential\napplicants, by prioritizing consideration of applications by applicants\nwho are from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement\nof cannabis prohibition or who qualify as a minority or women-owned\nbusiness, distressed farmers, or service-disabled veterans. Such\nqualifications shall be determined by the board, with recommendations\nfrom the state cannabis advisory board, the chief equity officer and\nexecutive director, by regulation.\n 2. The board's social and economic equity plan shall also promote\ndiversity in commerce, ownership and employment, and opportunities for\nsocial and economic equity in the adult-use cannabis industry. A goal\nshall be established to award fifty percent of adult-use cannabis\nlicenses to social and economic equity applicants and ensure inclusion\nof:\n (a) individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the\nenforcement of cannabis prohibition;\n (b) minority-owned businesses;\n (c) women-owned businesses;\n (d) minority and women-owned businesses, as defined in paragraph (d)\nof subdivision five of this section;\n (e) distressed farmers, as defined in subdivision five of this\nsection; and\n (f) service-disabled veterans.\n 3. The social and economic equity plan shall require the consideration\nof additional criteria in its licensing determinations. Under the social\nand economic equity plan, extra priority shall be given to applications\nthat demonstrate that an applicant:\n (a) is a member of a community disproportionately impacted by the\nenforcement of cannabis prohibition;\n (b) has an income lower than eighty percent of the median income of\nthe county in which the applicant resides; and\n (c) was convicted of a marihuana-related offense prior to the\neffective date of this chapter, or had a parent, guardian, child,\nspouse, or dependent, or was a dependent of an individual who, prior to\nthe effective date of this chapter, was convicted of a marihuana-related\noffense.\n 4. The board in consultation with the cannabis advisory board and the\nchief equity officer, shall also create an incubator program to\nencourage social and economic equity applicants to apply and, if granted\nan adult-use cannabis license, permit or registration, the program shall\nprovide direct support in the form of counseling services, education,\nsmall business coaching and financial planning, and compliance\nassistance.\n 5. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall\napply:\n (a) "Minority-owned business" shall mean a business enterprise,\nincluding a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company\nor corporation that is:\n (i) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more minority group\nmembers;\n (ii) an enterprise in which such minority ownership is real,\nsubstantial and continuing;\n (iii) an enterprise in which such minority ownership has and exercises\nthe authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions\nof the enterprise;\n (iv) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and\nindependently owned and operated; and\n (v) an enterprise that is a small business.\n (b) "Minority group member" shall mean a United States citizen or\npermanent resident noncitizen who is and can demonstrate membership in\none of the following groups:\n (i) black persons having origins in any of the black African racial\ngroups;\n (ii) Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban,\nCentral or South American of either Indian or Hispanic origin,\nregardless of race;\n (iii) Native American or Alaskan native persons having origins in any\nof the original peoples of North America; or\n (iv) Asian and Pacific Islander persons having origins in any of the\nfar east countries, south east Asia, the Indian subcontinent or the\nPacific islands.\n (c) "Women-owned business" shall mean a business enterprise, including\na sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company or\ncorporation that is:\n (i) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more United States\ncitizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are women;\n (ii) an enterprise in which the ownership interest of such women is\nreal, substantial and continuing;\n (iii) an enterprise in which such women ownership has and exercises\nthe authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions\nof the enterprise;\n (iv) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and\nindependently owned and operated; and\n (v) an enterprise that is a small business.\n (d) A firm owned by a minority group member who is also a woman may be\ndefined as a minority-owned business, a women-owned business, or both.\n (e) "Distressed farmer" shall mean: (i) a New York state resident or\nbusiness enterprise, including a sole proprietorship, partnership,\nlimited liability company or corporation, that meets the small farm\nclassification developed by the Economic Research Service of the United\nStates Department of Agriculture, has filed a schedule F with farm\nreceipts for the last three years, qualifies for an agriculture\nassessment and meets other qualifications defined in regulation by the\nboard to demonstrate that they operate a farm operation as defined in\nsection three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law and has\nbeen disproportionately impacted, including but not limited to incurring\noperating losses, by low commodity prices and faces the loss of farmland\nthrough development or suburban sprawl and meets any other\nqualifications as defined in regulation by board; or (ii) a New York\nstate resident or business enterprise, including a sole proprietorship,\npartnership, limited liability company or corporation, that is a small\nfarm operator and a member of a group that has been historically\nunderrepresented in farm ownership and meets any other qualifications as\ndefined in regulation by board.\n (f) "Service-disabled veterans" shall mean persons qualified under\narticle three of the veterans' services law.\n (g) "Communities disproportionately impacted" shall mean, but not be\nlimited to, a history of arrests, convictions, and other law enforcement\npractices in a certain geographic area, such as, but not limited to,\nprecincts, zip codes, neighborhoods, and political subdivisions,\nreflecting a disparate enforcement of cannabis prohibition during a\ncertain time period, when compared to the rest of the state. The board\nshall, with recommendations from the state cannabis advisory board, the\nchief equity officer and executive director, issue guidelines to\ndetermine how to assess which communities have been disproportionately\nimpacted and how to assess if someone is a member of a community\ndisproportionately impacted.\n 6. The board shall actively promote applicants that foster racial,\nethnic, and gender diversity in their workforce.\n 7. Licenses issued under the social and economic equity plan shall not\nbe transferred or sold within the first three years of issue, except to\na qualified social and economic equity applicant and with the prior\nwritten approval of the board. In the event a social and economic equity\napplicant seeks to transfer or sell their license at any point after\nissue and the transferee is to a person or entity that does not qualify\nas a social and economic equity applicant, the transfer agreement shall\nrequire the new license holder to pay to the board any outstanding\namount owed by the transferor to the board as repayment of any loan\nissued by the board as well as any other fee or assessment as determined\nby the board.\n