§ 138-b. Orders to seal. 1. In addition to any other authority
conferred in this chapter, pursuant to the provisions of this section,
the board or the office shall have the authority to issue an order to
seal the building or premises of any business engaged in unlicensed
activity, when such activity is conducted, maintained, or permitted in
such building or premises, occupied as a place of business as described
in subdivision eight of section ten of this chapter, in violation of
subdivision one or one-a of section one hundred twenty-five or
subdivision one or eight of section one hundred thirty-two of this
article.

2. Any order to seal shall be served by delivery of the order to the
owner of the business or other person of suitable age or discretion in
actual or apparent control of the premises at the time of the inspection
and shall be posted at the building or premises that have been sealed,
secured and closed. A copy of the order shall also be mailed to any
address for the owner of the business at any address provided by the
person to whom such order was delivered pursuant to this subdivision.
The order shall remain in effect pending a hearing and final
determination of the board, or until such order is vacated by the office
pursuant to subdivision six of this section. An order to seal shall
explicitly state the procedure to request a hearing within seven days.

3. The office may issue an order to seal with an immediate effective
date if such order is based upon a finding by the office of an imminent
threat to the public health, safety, and welfare. In such cases a
hearing shall be held within three business days of a request for such
hearing, unless otherwise adjourned by agreement of the parties, and a
determination shall be rendered within four business days of the
conclusion of such hearing, provided that the respondent has submitted a
verified statement that may be required pursuant to subdivision five of
section seventeen of this chapter. Failure of a respondent to appear at
the hearing will result in a default and order of sealing to remain in
effect for up to one year unless otherwise vacated pursuant to the
provisions of this section.

4. Factors that determine an imminent threat to public health, safety,
and welfare shall be limited to:

(a) documented sales to minors;

(b) unlicensed processing of cannabis products at the building or
premises;

(c) orders issued following an inspection wherein the person engaged
in the unlicensed activity engaged in violent, tumultuous, or other
behaviors indicating expressed intent to not comply with the office's
order to cease the unlicensed activity;

(d) documented presence of unlawful firearms at the building or
premises;

(e) proximity of the building or premises to schools, houses of
worship, or public youth facilities;

(f) presence of products deemed unsafe based on reports of illness or
hospitalization; or

(g) sales of, or offers to sell, cannabis products not tested or
labeled lawfully in accordance with this chapter.

5. Notwithstanding the factors listed in subdivision four of this
section and the restriction set forth in paragraph (b) of subdivision
six of this section, the office may issue an order to seal with an
immediate effective date upon a second or subsequent inspection in which
unlicensed activity is confirmed to be continuing more than ten calendar
days after a notice of violation and order to cease unlicensed activity
was previously issued by the office, provided that the office has also
provided notice pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of
subdivision thirteen of section one hundred thirty-eight-a of this
article.

6. An order to seal may be issued by the office or the board pursuant
to subdivision three of this section only if: (a) no part of the
premises to be sealed is used in part as a residence and pursuant to
local law or ordinance is zoned and lawfully occupied as a residence;
and (b) the unlicensed activity as described in this section is more
than a de minimis part of the business activity on the premises or in
the building to be sealed pursuant to the order. In the event that an
order to seal may not be issued pursuant to this subdivision, the office
shall issue a notice of violation and order to cease the unlicensed
conduct, which shall constitute notice that such unlicensed activity
must cease immediately.

7. In assessing whether unlicensed activity within a building or
premises is more than de minimis, the office or board, as relevant,
shall consider factors such as any one or more of the following:

(a) the presence of signs or symbols, indoors or out, advertising the
sale of cannabis or otherwise indicating that cannabis is sold on the
premises;

(b) information shared in any advertisements or other marketing
content in connection with the unlicensed business activity and any
direct or indirect sales of cannabis or other conduct in violation of
this chapter;

(c) the volume of illicit cannabis products on site; and

(d) the variety of illicit cannabis products on site.

8. Upon a request by the office, any police officer or peace officer
with jurisdiction may assist in the enforcement of an order to seal
issued by the office or the board, in accordance with the following
procedures:

(a) The police officer or peace officer serving and executing the
order to seal shall forthwith make and return to the office an inventory
of personal property situated in and used in conducting, maintaining, or
permitting the unlicensed activity within the scope of this chapter and
shall enter upon the building or premises for such purpose. Such
inventory shall be taken in any manner which is deemed likely to
evidence a true and accurate representation of the personal property
subject to such inventory including, but not limited to photographing
such personal property.

(b) The police officer or peace officer serving and executing the
order to seal shall enter the building or premises and, upon service of
the order, command all persons present in the building or premises to
vacate the premises forthwith. Upon the building or premises being
vacated, the premises shall be securely locked and all keys delivered to
the officer serving the order who thereafter shall deliver the keys to
the fee owner, lessor, or lessee of the building or premises involved.
If the fee owner, lessor, or lessee is not at the building or premises
when the order is being executed, the officer shall securely padlock the
premises and retain the keys until the fee owner, lessor, or lessee of
the building is ascertained, in which event, the officer shall deliver
the keys to such fee owner, lessor, or lessee.

(c) Upon service and execution of the order to seal, the police
officer or peace officer shall post a copy thereof in a conspicuous
place or upon one or more of the principal doors at entrances of such
premises where the unlicensed activity is being conducted, maintained,
or permitted. In addition, the officer shall affix, in a conspicuous
place or upon one or more of the principal doors at entrances of such
premises, a printed notice that the premises have been closed by order
of the cannabis control board, and the name of the officer or agency
posting the notice.

(d) Mutilation or removal of such a posted order or such a posted
notice while it remains in force, in addition to any other punishment
prescribed by law, shall be punishable, on conviction, by a fine of not
more than five thousand dollars or by a class B misdemeanor, or both,
provided such order or notice contains therein a notice of such penalty,
and shall be referred to the local district attorney for enforcement.
The office shall also adhere to the procedures in this subdivision when
executing an order to seal issued in accordance with this section.

9. Any order to seal issued by the office or the board issued pursuant
to this section shall be effective for one year from the later of the
posting of the order or the date of the judgment provided for in this
section. An order to seal shall be vacated by the office or the board,
upon notice to the office, if the respondent submits sufficient evidence
to the office or the board by an affidavit and such other proof as may
be submitted by the respondent that the unlicensed activity has been
abated. An order vacating an order to seal shall include a provision
authorizing the office, or any police officer or peace officer who
assisted with the execution of the order to seal, to inspect the
building or premises without notice for the purpose of ascertaining
whether or not the unlicensed activity has been abated. Any police
officer or peace officer with jurisdiction may, upon the request of the
office, assist in the enforcement of an inspection provision of an order
vacating an order to seal.

10. The office shall mail a copy, by certified mail, of any order to
seal issued by the office or board within five days following issuance
of such order to the person in whose name the real estate affected by
the order is recorded in the office of the city register or the county
clerk, as the case may be, who shall be presumed to be the owner
thereof. Such mailing shall constitute notice to the owner and shall be
deemed to be complete upon such mailing by the office as provided above.

11. If at any time a respondent vacates the building or premises
subject to an order to seal issued by the office or board, or if the
building owner provides sufficient proof thereof, any action or
proceeding filed in accordance with these procedures relating to such
building or premises shall be withdrawn by the office or the board
without prejudice, and any order to seal shall be vacated.

12. The remedies provided for in this section are not exclusive and
the office or board may also request and recover penalties in accordance
with other provisions in this chapter.