* § 68-c. Conditional adult-use cultivator license. 1. A conditional adult-use cultivator license shall be subject to the same authorizations, restrictions and requirements applied to any adult-use cultivator pursuant to section sixty-eight of this article for the duration of the conditional period of the license, as well as to any new terms and conditions imposed by the board and office.

2. To be eligible to apply for a conditional adult-use cultivator license, a cultivator must:

(a) have held a valid industrial hemp grower authorization from the department of agriculture and markets, as of December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one, which authorized the growing of cannabinoid hemp, and is in good standing with the department of agriculture and markets;

(b) have grown and harvested hemp for at least two of the past four years pursuant to that license and be able to provide proof, as defined by the office, of the amount of hemp planted by the applicant during each of the two years that hemp was grown; and

(c) as an individual applicant have an ownership interest of fifty-one percent or more, or as any other applicant have an ownership interest of fifty-one percent or more of the entity that is the licensee.

3. A conditional adult-use cultivator license shall authorize the cultivation of cannabis outdoors or in a greenhouse with no more than twenty artificial lights unless otherwise authorized by the office. A conditional adult-use cultivator licensee may cultivate up to forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet of flowering canopy outdoors or twenty-five thousand square feet of flowering canopy in a greenhouse. A cultivator may cultivate both outdoors and in a greenhouse provided the flowering canopy in a greenhouse is less than twenty-thousand square feet and the total flowering canopy is equal to or less than thirty-thousand square feet.

4. A conditional adult-use cultivator licensee must comply with any environmental standards and requirements mandated by the office.

5. The cultivation of cannabis shall only be permitted within the same or an adjacent county in which the conditional adult-use cultivator licensee had previously been authorized by the department of agriculture and markets to grow hemp.

6. A conditional adult-use cultivator licensee shall have the temporary authority to minimally process and distribute cannabis products, provided that such final products shall be in the form of cannabis flower, without holding an adult-use processor or distributor license established pursuant to sections sixty-nine and seventy-one of this article; provided that the licensee complies with all requirements for the processing and distribution of cannabis products as set out by the board in regulations or in the terms and conditions of the conditional license. Such authority to minimally process and distribute cannabis products expires on June first, two thousand twenty-four. After June first, two thousand twenty-four, any conditional adult-use cultivator seeking to process and distribute cannabis products shall be required to apply for and receive a processor and distributor license to conduct this activity.

7. For the duration of the conditional period of the conditional adult-use cultivator license, the ownership or organizational structure of the entity that is the licensee shall not be amended, except pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions two, three and four of section sixty-seven of this article.

8. The office shall set out specific terms and conditions setting out requirements necessary to be awarded and maintain a conditional adult-use cultivator license, including but not limited to the requirement that a licensee agrees to participate in an environmental sustainability program and a social equity mentorship program. Such mentorship program shall be directed to train individuals interested in becoming licensed cultivators and shall leverage remote and in-person mentees with experience in agriculture business management, sustainable cannabis cultivation, and best practices. Candidates for the mentorship program must be at least eighteen years of age, must be a New York state resident, and must be individuals that would be considered social equity applicants as defined by section eighty-seven of this article. The license terms and conditions set out by the office shall include requirements that a licensee enter into a labor peace agreement with a bona-fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing or attempting to represent the applicant's employees within six months of licensure, that the maintenance of such labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition of licensure, and that licensees shall meet any other eligibility requirements established by the office.

9. The board shall establish a non-refundable application and license fee, in a manner consistent with section sixty-three of this article, for the conditional adult-use cultivator license. No such license shall be issued after December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two and such license shall only be valid through June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four.

10. A conditional adult-use cultivator license shall be deemed to have been surrendered to the board and a conditional adult-use cultivator licensee shall be deemed not to be in good standing, as determined in the discretion of the executive director in a written notice, effective upon delivery to the licensee at the licensee's last known address on file with the office, for reasons including but not limited to:

(a) failure to abide by all the terms and conditions of the conditional adult-use cultivator license;

(b) failure to adhere to all requirements set out in regulations and guidance, including those promulgated after receiving the conditional adult-use cultivator license;

(c) failure to submit information, records, or reports;

(d) failure to correct deficiencies in accordance with an approved corrective action plan;

(e) deviation from regulations, licensing terms, or standard operating procedures in a manner that the office determines may jeopardize health or safety of the public, or the quality of products grown or produced;

(f) failure to provide office employees with access to the premises; and

(g) failure to begin operations within six months of the date of the issuance of the license.

11. A licensee whose conditional adult-use cultivator license has been deemed surrendered may within ten days of the delivery date of such notice appeal the determination of the executive director to the board pursuant to subdivision eighteen of section ten of this chapter. The board shall have sole discretion to determine the conduct of the appeal, which shall include notice and an opportunity to be heard. Upon review by the board, the board shall issue a final written determination which may then be reviewed pursuant to § 135 of the civil practice law and rules.

12. In the event that a conditional adult-use cultivator licensee elects to cease operation of all permitted activities or to surrender its license, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) the conditional adult-use cultivator licensee shall notify the office in writing at least thirty days prior to the anticipated date of closure;

(b) such written notice shall include a proposed plan for closure. The plan shall be subject to office approval and shall include timetables and describe the procedures and actions the licensee shall take to properly destroy or otherwise dispose of all the licensee's supply of cannabis and/or cannabis products; and

(c) the licensee or former licensee must maintain and make available to the office all records related to the cultivation of cannabis for a period of three years.

13. No later than ninety days before the expiration of a conditional adult-use cultivator license, the office shall, pursuant to a request by the licensee, review the conditional adult-use cultivator licensee to determine whether they are in good standing with the office. Good standing shall include, but not be limited to, compliance with subdivision seven of this section. Any licensee found to be in good standing shall be eligible to apply for and receive an adult-use cultivation license, provided the licensee can meet all requirements of the new license. Such a licensee will receive, at minimum, an adult-use cultivator license for the size of flowering canopy that they were licensed to grow pursuant to their conditional adult-use cultivator license or a larger size flowering canopy and authorization to use artificial light as may be set out by the board in regulation. A licensee may not separately apply for any license type under this article permitting the cultivation of adult-use cannabis while holding a conditional adult-use cultivator license.

14. For the purposes of this section, the office has the authority to define terms including but not limited to "greenhouse", "immature plant", "flowering canopy" as part of the terms and conditions of the conditional adult-use cultivator license.

15. Nothing herein shall limit the authority, power, or other rights or remedies of the board or office.

* NB Repealed June 30, 2024