Section 1300.165  Agents and Identification Cards

a)         The cultivation center agent application shall be submitted on forms provided by the Department in accordance with the Act and this Part.  The application will include instructions for its completion and submission.  The application will include requests for information in support of the application needed by the Department in making its determination.  If all materials, documentation and information required by the Act and this Part are not submitted, the application will be returned to the applicant.

b)         Each principal officer, board member, employee or agent of a registered cultivation center must apply to the Department for a cultivation center agent identification card (ID card).  Along with the application, the applicant shall submit:

1)         A copy of the applicant's social security card;

2)         A copy of the applicant's valid driver's license or State issued identification card;

3)         A document verifying the applicant's place of residency, such as a bank statement, cancelled check, insurance policy, etc.  The document must contain the applicant's full residence address;

4)         Verification from ISP that the applicant's background check has been conducted;

5)         The application fee of $100; and

6)         Any additional information requested by the Department.

c)         Upon receipt and verification of the information specified in subsection (b), the Department will:

1)         Approve or deny the application within 30 days after receipt;

2)         Issue an agent identification card to a qualifying agent within 15 business days after approving the initial application or renewal application [410 ILCS 705/20-35(a)(3)];

3)         Enter in its record system the registry identification number of the cultivation center where the agent works.

d)         No person shall begin working at a cultivation center prior to receiving his or her ID card.

e)         The ID card shall contain the following:

1)         The name of the cardholder;

2)         The date of issuance and expiration;

3)         A random 10-digit alphanumeric identification number with at least 4 numbers and 4 letters that are unique to the holder;

4)         A photograph of the cardholder; and

5)         The legal name of the cultivation center employing the agent.

f)         A registered cultivation center agent is not subject to prosecution, search, or penalty in any manner, and will not be denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business licensing board or entity, for working or volunteering for a registered cannabis cultivation center to perform the actions permitted by this Part.

g)         A cultivation center agent must keep his or her ID card visible at all times when on the property of a cultivation center.

h)         Upon termination of employment, the ID cards shall be immediately returned to the cultivation center.  The cultivation center shall promptly return the ID cards to the Department.

i)          Any ID card that is lost, destroyed or stolen shall be reported to ISP and the Department immediately upon discovery of the loss, destruction or theft. The fee for the issuance of a replacement ID card shall be $50.

j)          Upon conviction of an excluded offense, the principal officer, board member or registered agent shall immediately notify the Department and shall surrender his or her ID card to the Department.

k)         Renewal of Agent Identification Cards

1)         ID cards issued under the Act shall be renewed annually. The renewal fee shall be $100;

2)         An agent shall receive written or electronic notice of expiration of the ID card 90 days before the expiration of the ID card;

3)         If a cultivation center agent fails to renew his or her ID card before its expiration, he or she shall cease to work as an agent of the cultivation center until his or her ID card is renewed [410 ILCS 705/20-45(c)];

4)         Upon request for renewal, the Department will consider the licensee's history of compliance with the Act and this Part, the number and severity of any violations and the correction of those violations, and penalties or fines imposed or any other enforcement actions;

5)         The Department may deny a renewal after consideration of the licensee's history of compliance;

6)         The Department will not issue or renew an ID card if the applicant is delinquent in filing any required tax returns or paying any amounts owed to the State of Illinois. [410 ILCS 705/15-95(i)(12)]