(a) Thirty days after the Social Equity Council posts the criteria for social equity applicants on its Internet web site, the department shall open up a three-month application period for cultivators during which a social equity applicant may apply to the department for a provisional cultivator license and final license for a cultivation facility located in a disproportionately impacted area without participating in a lottery or request for proposals. Such application for a provisional license shall be granted upon (1) verification by the Social Equity Council that the applicant meets the criteria for a social equity applicant; (2) the applicant submitting to and passing a criminal background check; and (3) payment of a three-million-dollar fee to be deposited in the Social Equity and Innovation Fund established in § 21a-420f. Upon granting such provisional license, the department shall notify the applicant of the project labor agreement requirements of § 21a-421e.

(b) To obtain a final cultivator license under this section, the social equity applicant shall provide evidence of (1) a contract with an entity providing an approved electronic tracking system as described in § 21a-421n; (2) a right to exclusively occupy a location in a disproportionately impacted area at which the cultivation facility will be located; (3) any necessary local zoning approval and permits for the cultivation facility; (4) a business plan; (5) a social equity plan approved by the Social Equity Council; (6) written policies for preventing diversion and misuse of cannabis and sales of cannabis to underage persons; and (7) blueprints of the facility and all other security requirements of the department.