HB3499 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 27239 CPF 53610 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3499

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Sonya M. Harper

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

410 ILCS 705/15-70
410 ILCS 705/20-30

Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, dispensing organizations and cultivation centers must have at least 40% of ancillary services required for their operation, including accounting, janitorial, and printing services, provided under contract with at least one business that has received certification under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act is amended by changing Sections 15-70 and 20-30 as follows:

(410 ILCS 705/15-70)

Sec. 15-70. Operational requirements; prohibitions.

(a) A dispensing organization shall operate in accordance with the representations made in its application and license materials. It shall be in compliance with this Act and rules.

(b) A dispensing organization must include the legal name of the dispensary on the packaging of any cannabis product it sells.

(c) All cannabis, cannabis-infused products, and cannabis seeds must be obtained from an Illinois registered adult use cultivation center, craft grower, infuser, or another dispensary.

(d) Dispensing organizations are prohibited from selling any product containing alcohol except tinctures, which must be limited to containers that are no larger than 100 milliliters.

(e) A dispensing organization shall inspect and count product received from a transporting organization, adult use cultivation center, craft grower, infuser organization, or other dispensing organization before dispensing it.

(f) A dispensing organization may only accept cannabis deliveries into a restricted access area. Deliveries may not be accepted through the public or limited access areas unless otherwise approved by the Department.

(g) A dispensing organization shall maintain compliance with State and local building, fire, and zoning requirements or regulations.

(h) A dispensing organization shall submit a list to the Department of the names of all service professionals that will work at the dispensary. The list shall include a description of the type of business or service provided. Changes to the service professional list shall be promptly provided. No service professional shall work in the dispensary until the name is provided to the Department on the service professional list.

(i) A dispensing organization's license allows for a dispensary to be operated only at a single location.

(j) A dispensary may operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time.

(k) A dispensing organization must keep all lighting outside and inside the dispensary in good working order and wattage sufficient for security cameras.

(l) A dispensing organization must keep all air treatment systems that will be installed to reduce odors in good working order.

(m) A dispensing organization must contract with a private security contractor that is licensed under Section 10-5 of the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004 to provide on-site security at all hours of the dispensary's operation.

(n) A dispensing organization shall ensure that any building or equipment used by a dispensing organization for the storage or sale of cannabis is maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

(o) The dispensary shall be free from infestation by insects, rodents, or pests.

(p) A dispensing organization shall not:

(1) Produce or manufacture cannabis;

(2) Accept a cannabis product from an adult use cultivation center, craft grower, infuser, dispensing organization, or transporting organization unless it is pre-packaged and labeled in accordance with this Act and any rules that may be adopted pursuant to this Act;

(3) Obtain cannabis or cannabis-infused products from outside the State of Illinois;

(4) Sell cannabis or cannabis-infused products to a purchaser unless the dispensing organization is licensed under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, and the individual is registered under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program or the purchaser has been verified to be 21 years of age or older;

(5) Enter into an exclusive agreement with any adult use cultivation center, craft grower, or infuser. Dispensaries shall provide consumers an assortment of products from various cannabis business establishment licensees such that the inventory available for sale at any dispensary from any single cultivation center, craft grower, processor, transporter, or infuser entity shall not be more than 40% of the total inventory available for sale. For the purpose of this subsection, a cultivation center, craft grower, processor, or infuser shall be considered part of the same entity if the licensees share at least one principal officer. The Department may request that a dispensary diversify its products as needed or otherwise discipline a dispensing organization for violating this requirement;

(6) Refuse to conduct business with an adult use cultivation center, craft grower, transporting organization, or infuser that has the ability to properly deliver the product and is permitted by the Department of Agriculture, on the same terms as other adult use cultivation centers, craft growers, infusers, or transporters with whom it is dealing;

(7) Operate drive-through windows;

(8) Allow for the dispensing of cannabis or cannabis-infused products in vending machines;

(9) Transport cannabis to residences or other locations where purchasers may be for delivery;

(10) Enter into agreements to allow persons who are not dispensing organization agents to deliver cannabis or to transport cannabis to purchasers;

(11) Operate a dispensary if its video surveillance equipment is inoperative;

(12) Operate a dispensary if the point-of-sale equipment is inoperative;

(13) Operate a dispensary if the State's cannabis electronic verification system is inoperative;

(14) Have fewer than 2 people working at the dispensary at any time while the dispensary is open;

(15) Be located within 1,500 feet of the property line of a pre-existing dispensing organization, unless the applicant is a Social Equity Applicant or Social Equity Justice Involved Applicant located or seeking to locate within 1,500 feet of a dispensing organization licensed under Section 15-15 or Section 15-20;

(16) Sell clones or any other live plant material;

(17) Sell cannabis, cannabis concentrate, or cannabis-infused products in combination or bundled with each other or any other items for one price, and each item of cannabis, concentrate, or cannabis-infused product must be separately identified by quantity and price on the receipt;

(18) Violate any other requirements or prohibitions set by Department rules.

(q) It is unlawful for any person having an Early Approval Adult Use Cannabis Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensing Organization, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act or any officer, associate, member, representative, or agent of such licensee to accept, receive, or borrow money or anything else of value or accept or receive credit (other than merchandising credit in the ordinary course of business for a period not to exceed 30 days) directly or indirectly from any adult use cultivation center, craft grower, infuser, or transporting organization in exchange for preferential placement on the dispensing organization's shelves, display cases, or website. This includes anything received or borrowed or from any stockholders, officers, agents, or persons connected with an adult use cultivation center, craft grower, infuser, or transporting organization.

(r) It is unlawful for any person having an Early Approval Adult Use Cannabis Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensing Organization, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program to enter into any contract with any person licensed to cultivate, process, or transport cannabis whereby such dispensing organization agrees not to sell any cannabis cultivated, processed, transported, manufactured, or distributed by any other cultivator, transporter, or infuser, and any provision in any contract violative of this Section shall render the whole of such contract void and no action shall be brought thereon in any court.

(s) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a dispensing organization must have at least 40% of ancillary services required for its operation, including, but not limited to, accounting, janitorial, and printing services, provided under contract with at least one business that has received certification under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

In this subsection:

"Business" has the same meaning as provided in Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

"Certification" has the same meaning as provided in Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19; 102-98, eff. 7-15-21.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-30)

Sec. 20-30. Cultivation center requirements; prohibitions.

(a) The operating documents of a cultivation center shall include procedures for the oversight of the cultivation center, a cannabis plant monitoring system including a physical inventory recorded weekly, accurate recordkeeping, and a staffing plan.

(b) A cultivation center shall implement a security plan reviewed by the Illinois State Police that includes, but is not limited to: facility access controls, perimeter intrusion detection systems, personnel identification systems, 24-hour surveillance system to monitor the interior and exterior of the cultivation center facility and accessibility to authorized law enforcement, the Department of Public Health where processing takes place, and the Department of Agriculture in real time.

(c) All cultivation of cannabis by a cultivation center must take place in an enclosed, locked facility at the physical address provided to the Department of Agriculture during the licensing process. The cultivation center location shall only be accessed by the agents working for the cultivation center, the Department of Agriculture staff performing inspections, the Department of Public Health staff performing inspections, local and State law enforcement or other emergency personnel, contractors working on jobs unrelated to cannabis, such as installing or maintaining security devices or performing electrical wiring, transporting organization agents as provided in this Act, individuals in a mentoring or educational program approved by the State, or other individuals as provided by rule.

(d) A cultivation center may not sell or distribute any cannabis or cannabis-infused products to any person other than a dispensing organization, craft grower, infuser organization, transporter, or as otherwise authorized by rule.

(e) A cultivation center may not either directly or indirectly discriminate in price between different dispensing organizations, craft growers, or infuser organizations that are purchasing a like grade, strain, brand, and quality of cannabis or cannabis-infused product. Nothing in this subsection (e) prevents a cultivation center from pricing cannabis differently based on differences in the cost of manufacturing or processing, the quantities sold, such as volume discounts, or the way the products are delivered.

(f) All cannabis harvested by a cultivation center and intended for distribution to a dispensing organization must be entered into a data collection system, packaged and labeled under Section 55-21, and placed into a cannabis container for transport. All cannabis harvested by a cultivation center and intended for distribution to a craft grower or infuser organization must be packaged in a labeled cannabis container and entered into a data collection system before transport.

(g) Cultivation centers are subject to random inspections by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Health, local safety or health inspectors, the Illinois State Police, or as provided by rule.

(h) A cultivation center agent shall notify local law enforcement, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Agriculture within 24 hours of the discovery of any loss or theft. Notification shall be made by phone or in person, or by written or electronic communication.

(i) A cultivation center shall comply with all State and any applicable federal rules and regulations regarding the use of pesticides on cannabis plants.

(j) No person or entity shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, of more than 3 cultivation centers licensed under this Article. Further, no person or entity that is employed by, an agent of, has a contract to receive payment in any form from a cultivation center, is a principal officer of a cultivation center, or entity controlled by or affiliated with a principal officer of a cultivation shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, in a cultivation that would result in the person or entity owning or controlling in combination with any cultivation center, principal officer of a cultivation center, or entity controlled or affiliated with a principal officer of a cultivation center by which he, she, or it is employed, is an agent of, or participates in the management of, more than 3 cultivation center licenses.

(k) A cultivation center may not contain more than 210,000 square feet of canopy space for plants in the flowering stage for cultivation of adult use cannabis as provided in this Act.

(l) A cultivation center may process cannabis, cannabis concentrates, and cannabis-infused products.

(m) Beginning July 1, 2020, a cultivation center shall not transport cannabis or cannabis-infused products to a craft grower, dispensing organization, infuser organization, or laboratory licensed under this Act, unless it has obtained a transporting organization license.

(n) It is unlawful for any person having a cultivation center license or any officer, associate, member, representative, or agent of such licensee to offer or deliver money, or anything else of value, directly or indirectly to any person having an Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, or to any person connected with or in any way representing, or to any member of the family of, such person holding an Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, or to any stockholders in any corporation engaged in the retail sale of cannabis, or to any officer, manager, agent, or representative of the Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act to obtain preferential placement within the dispensing organization, including, without limitation, on shelves and in display cases where purchasers can view products, or on the dispensing organization's website.

(o) A cultivation center must comply with any other requirements or prohibitions set by administrative rule of the Department of Agriculture.

(p) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a cultivation center must have at least 40% of ancillary services required for its operation, including, but not limited to, accounting, janitorial, and printing services, provided under contract with at least one business that has received certification under the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

In this subsection:

"Business" has the same meaning as provided in Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

"Certification" has the same meaning as provided in Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19; 102-98, eff. 7-15-21; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)