S 3248: Authorizes private civil actions for certain violations of the cannabis law relating to licensure.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3248 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the cannabis law, in relation to authorizing a qui tam proceeding for civil violations of the canna- bis law The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 1 of section 189 of the state 2 finance law, as amended by section 1 of part J of chapter 57 of the laws 3 of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 4 (h) knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases 5 an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state or a 6 local government, or conspires to do the same; or 7 (i) violates any civil provisions of section one hundred twenty-five 8 of the cannabis law; 9 shall be liable to the state or a local government, as applicable, for 10 a civil penalty of not less than six thousand dollars and not more than 11 twelve thousand dollars, as adjusted to be equal to the civil penalty 12 allowed under the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. sec. 3729, et 13 seq., as amended, as adjusted for inflation by the Federal Civil Penal- 14 ties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended (28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 15 Pub. L. No. 101-410), plus three times the amount of all damages, 16 including consequential damages, which the state or local government 17 sustains because of the act of that person; provided, however, that the 18 civil penalty for violations of the cannabis law shall be as set forth 19 in section one hundred thirty-two of such chapter. 20 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 138-a of the cannabis law, as amended by 21 section 14 of part G of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 22 read as follows: 23 5. request that the attorney general obtain judicial enforcement of an 24 order issued under subdivision one of this section or bring an action or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01118-01-5 
 S. 3248 2 1 proceeding for any relief otherwise authorized under this chapter for a 2 violation of this chapter or bring an action or proceeding authorized 3 under section one hundred eighty-nine of the state finance law, includ- 4 ing the recovery of any applicable civil penalties; 5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.