* § 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 section one hundred thirty-five of this
chapter and article seventy-eight 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