S 6234: Establishes the Cannabis Community Reinvestment Act; includes requirements for cannabis operators; includes the obligation to reinvest in communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition including, if applicable, the community such operator is located in; provides for the review of reinvestment plans by the department of financial services.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6234 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 7, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern- ment Operations AN ACT to amend the cannabis law and the financial services law, in relation to establishing the Cannabis Community Reinvestment Act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and cited as the "Cannabis Communi- 2 ty Reinvestment Act". 3 § 2. Section 3 of the cannabis law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 4 sion 37-a to read as follows: 5 37-a. "Operator" means a licensee that acts as a cannabis producer for 6 the cultivation of cannabis, a cannabis processor, a cannabis distribu- 7 tor and/or a cannabis retailer, provided that such business has operated 8 for at least two years. 9 § 3. The cannabis law is amended by adding a new section 62-a to read 10 as follows: 11 § 62-a. Applications by operators. Any application submitted by an 12 operator shall include a plan to reinvest in communities disproportion- 13 ately impacted by cannabis prohibition including, if applicable, the 14 community such operator is located in. The operator shall contribute at 15 least two percent of their annual profits to communities disproportion- 16 ately impacted pursuant to paragraph (g) of subdivision five of section 17 eighty-seven of this article. The board shall determine the necessary 18 criteria for such plan and shall establish a scoring system to determine 19 if such operators have fulfilled their obligation under this section. 20 § 4. The financial services law is amended by adding a new section 312 21 to read as follows: 22 § 312. Evaluation of reinvestment plans. The department shall evaluate 23 the plans by operators, as defined in section three of the cannabis law, 24 to reinvest in specified communities and provide for the enforcement of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06013-01-5 
 S. 6234 2 1 the cannabis community reinvestment act, pursuant to section sixty-two-a 2 of the cannabis law, in consultation with the board. If the department 3 determines that an operator is failing to properly serve disadvantaged 4 communities, specifically the community they are serving, if applicable, 5 or does not possess and/or properly execute a social impact program 6 within their business model, such operator shall be notified and their 7 license shall be marked for further review. The department shall deter- 8 mine what necessary steps such operator shall take to fulfill the obli- 9 gations under this section and provide such information to the operator 10 within thirty days of marking such operator for further review. Such 11 operator will then have sixty days to take such steps. Notwithstanding 12 any provision of law to the contrary, if the department determines that 13 such steps or substantially similar steps, as determined by the board, 14 were not taken, the department may revoke such operator's license or 15 licenses. The department shall establish an appeals process for opera- 16 tors that have had their licenses revoked. If such revocation occurs, 17 such license or licenses shall be auctioned off to another individual or 18 business that qualifies under section eighty-seven of the cannabis law. 19 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 23 on or before such effective date.