HB0226CPS

HOUSE CONSUMER AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 226

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

AN ACT

RELATING TO CANNABIS REGULATION; PROVIDING FOR STATE CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS AND NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS AS A CONDITION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSURE; REQUIRING THAT AN APPLICATION FOR CANNABIS ACTIVITY LICENSURE BE SIGNED BY THE APPLICANT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. Section 26-2C-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021 (1st S.S.), Chapter 4, Section 2) is amended to read:

"26-2C-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Cannabis Regulation Act:

A. "advertisement":

(1) means a statement or a depiction that is intended to induce the purchase of cannabis products and that is displayed in printed material or on a sign or other outdoor display or presented in a radio, television or other media broadcast or in digital media; and

(2) does not include:

(a) a sign or outdoor display or other statement permanently affixed to a licensed premises that is intended to induce the sale of a cannabis product produced or sold on the premises;

(b) a label affixed to a cannabis product or the covering, wrapper or container of a cannabis product; or

(c) an editorial or other material printed in a publication when the publication of the editorial or material was not paid for by a licensee and was not intended to promote the sale of cannabis products by a particular brand or company;

B. "applicant" means a person seeking licensure;

[B.] C. "cannabis":

(1) means all parts of the plant genus Cannabis containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis, whether growing or not; the seeds of the plant; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or its resin; and

(2) does not include:

(a) the mature stalks of the plant; fiber produced from the stalks; oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant; any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake; or the sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination; or

(b) the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis products to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or another product;

[C.] D. "cannabis consumption area" means an area where cannabis products may be served and consumed;

[D.] E. "cannabis courier" means a person that transports cannabis products to qualified patients, primary caregivers or reciprocal participants or directly to consumers;

[E.] F. "cannabis establishment" means:

(1) a cannabis testing laboratory;

(2) a cannabis manufacturer;

(3) a cannabis producer;

(4) a cannabis retailer;

(5) a cannabis research laboratory;

(6) a vertically integrated cannabis establishment;

(7) a cannabis producer microbusiness; or

(8) an integrated cannabis microbusiness;

[F.] G. "cannabis extract":

(1) means a product obtained by separating resins, tetrahydrocannabinols or other substances from cannabis by extraction methods approved by the division; and

(2) does not include the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis extract to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or another product;

[G.] H. "cannabis flowers" means only the flowers of a cannabis plant;

[H.] I. "cannabis manufacturer" means a person that:

(1) manufactures cannabis products;

(2) packages cannabis products;

(3) has cannabis products tested by a cannabis testing laboratory; or

(4) purchases, acquires, sells or transports wholesale cannabis products to other cannabis establishments;

[I.] J. "cannabis producer" means a person that:

(1) cultivates cannabis plants;

(2) has unprocessed cannabis products tested by a cannabis testing laboratory;

(3) transports unprocessed cannabis products only to other cannabis establishments; or

(4) sells cannabis products wholesale;

[J.] K. "cannabis producer microbusiness" means a cannabis producer at a single licensed premises that possesses no more than two hundred total mature cannabis plants at any one time;

[K.] L. "cannabis product" means a product that is or that contains cannabis or cannabis extract, including edible or topical products that may also contain other ingredients;

[L.] M. "cannabis research laboratory" means a facility that produces or possesses cannabis products and all parts of the plant genus Cannabis for the purpose of studying cannabis cultivation, characteristics or uses;

[M.] N. "cannabis retailer" means a person that sells cannabis products to qualified patients, primary caregivers or reciprocal participants or directly to consumers;

[N.] O. "cannabis server permit" means an authorization that allows a person to directly offer, sell or serve cannabis or cannabis products as part of commercial cannabis activity in a cannabis consumption area;

[O.] P. "cannabis server permit education provider" means a person that provides cannabis server education courses and examinations;

[P.] Q. "cannabis testing laboratory" means a person that samples, collects and tests cannabis products and transports cannabis products for the purpose of testing;

[Q.] R. "cannabis training and education program" means a practical or academic curriculum offered by a New Mexico public post-secondary educational institution designed to prepare students for participation in the cannabis industry;

[R.] S. "commercial cannabis activity":

(1) means the cultivation, production, possession, manufacture, storage, testing, researching, labeling, transportation, couriering, purchase for resale, sale or consignment of cannabis products; and

(2) does not include activities related only to the medical cannabis program, to cannabis training and education programs or to the personal cultivation or use of cannabis;

[S.] T. "consumer" means a person twenty-one years of age or older who purchases, acquires, owns, possesses or uses a cannabis product for a purpose other than resale;

[T.] U. "contaminant" means pesticides and other foreign material, such as hair, insects or other similar adulterants, in harvested cannabis;

[U.] V. "controlling person":

(1) means a person that controls a financial or voting interest of ten percent or more of, or an officer or board member of, a cannabis establishment; and

(2) does not include a bank or licensed lending institution;

[V.] W. "cultivation" means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading or trimming of cannabis;

[W.] X. "department" means the regulation and licensing department;

[X.] Y. "director" means the director of the division;

[Y.] Z. "division" means the cannabis control division of the department;

[Z.] AA. "dry weight basis", when used in the context of regulation of commercial cannabis activity, means a process by which delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration is measured relative to the aggregate weight of all parts of the plant genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, including the leaves of the plant, the flowers and buds of the plant, the seeds of the plant, the resin of the plant and the stalks of the plant at the point of harvest by a licensee and with no moisture added to the harvested plant;

[AA.] BB. "facility" means a building, space or grounds licensed for the production, possession, testing, manufacturing or distribution of cannabis, cannabis extracts or cannabis products;

[BB.] CC. "financial consideration" means value that is given or received, directly or indirectly, through sales, barter, trade, fees, charges, dues, contributions or donations;

[CC.] DD. "homegrown" or "homemade" means grown or made for purposes that are not dependent or conditioned upon the provision or receipt of financial consideration;

[DD.] EE. "household" means a housing unit and includes any place in or around the housing unit at which an occupant of the housing unit produces, manufactures, keeps or stores homegrown cannabis or homemade cannabis products;

[EE.] FF. "immature cannabis plant" means a cannabis plant that has no observable flowers or buds;

[FF.] GG. "industry standards" means the prevailing customary standards of business practice in the cannabis industry in jurisdictions within the United States;

[GG.] HH. "integrated cannabis microbusiness" means a person that is authorized to conduct one or more of the following:

(1) production of cannabis at a single licensed premises; provided that the person shall not possess more than two hundred total mature cannabis plants at any one time;

(2) manufacture of cannabis products at a single licensed premises;

(3) sales and transportation of only cannabis products produced or manufactured by that person;

(4) operation of only one retail establishment; and

(5) couriering of cannabis products to qualified patients, primary caregivers or reciprocal participants or directly to consumers;

[HH.] II. "licensed premises" means a location that includes:

(1) all enclosed public and private areas at the location that are used in the business and includes offices, kitchens, restrooms and storerooms;

(2) all areas outside of a building that are specifically included in the license for the production, manufacturing, wholesale sale or retail sale of cannabis products; and

(3) with respect to a location that is specifically licensed for the production of cannabis outside of a building, the entire unit of land that is created by subsection or partition of land that the licensee owns, leases or has a right to occupy;

JJ. "licensee" means the person that is licensed;

[II.] KK. "local jurisdiction" means a municipality, home rule municipality or county;

[JJ.] LL. "manufacture" means to compound, blend, extract, infuse, package or otherwise prepare a cannabis product;

[KK.] MM. "medical cannabis" means cannabis products used by a qualified patient or reciprocal participant in accordance with the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

[LL.] NN. "medical cannabis program" means the program created pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

[MM.] OO. "medical cannabis registry" means the system by which the department of health approves or denies applications and issues and renews registry identification cards for qualified patients;

[NN.] PP. "primary caregiver" means a resident of New Mexico who is at least eighteen years of age and who is responsible for managing the well-being of a qualified patient with respect to the medical use of cannabis pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

[OO.] QQ. "public place" means a place to which the general public has access and includes hallways, lobbies and other parts of apartment houses and hotels that do not constitute rooms or apartments designed for actual residence; highways; streets; schools; places of amusement; parks; playgrounds; and places used in connection with public passenger transportation;

[PP.] RR. "qualified patient" means a resident of New Mexico who holds a registry identification card pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

[QQ.] SS. "reciprocal participant" means a person who is not a resident of New Mexico and who holds proof of enrollment by a governmental regulatory authority to participate in the medical cannabis program of another state of the United States, the District of Columbia or a territory or commonwealth of the United States in which the person resides or a person who holds proof of enrollment by a governmental regulatory authority of a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo to participate in its medical cannabis program;

[RR.] TT. "retail establishment" means a location at which cannabis products are sold to qualified patients, primary caregivers and reciprocal participants and directly to consumers;

[SS.] UU. "superintendent" means the superintendent of regulation and licensing;

[TT.] VV. "unprocessed" means unaltered from an original, raw or natural state; and

[UU.] WW. "vertically integrated cannabis establishment" means a person that is authorized to act as any of the following:

(1) a cannabis courier;

(2) a cannabis manufacturer;

(3) a cannabis producer; and

(4) a cannabis retailer."

SECTION 2. Section 26-2C-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021 (1st S.S.), Chapter 4, Section 3) is amended to read:

"26-2C-3. DIVISION--POWERS AND DUTIES--RULEMAKING--ADVISORY COMMITTEE CREATED--MEMBERSHIP--DUTIES.--

A. The "cannabis control division" is created in the department to administer the Cannabis Regulation Act and the licensing provisions of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act and rules promulgated in accordance with those acts. Rules shall be adopted and promulgated as provided in the State Rules Act.

B. No later than January 1, 2022, the division shall promulgate rules that are consistent with industry standards necessary for the division to carry out its duties pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act as follows:

(1) qualifications and procedures for licensure; provided that qualifications shall be directly and demonstrably related to the operation of the applicable cannabis establishment;

(2) security requirements for a cannabis establishment;

(3) requirements related to:

(a) inspection and monitoring of a cannabis establishment;

(b) a cannabis establishment's recordkeeping and tracking of cannabis from seed until sale;

(c) prevention of the sale or diversion of cannabis products in commercial cannabis activity to a person under the age of twenty-one;

(d) labeling of cannabis products packaged, sold or distributed by a cannabis establishment; and

(e) language for labels of cannabis products regarding potential adverse effects;

(4) rules providing that:

(a) a person who is twenty-one years old or older shall not purchase more than two ounces of cannabis, sixteen grams of cannabis extract and eight hundred milligrams of edible cannabis at one time; and

(b) as to commercial cannabis activity: 1) a consumer shall not possess more than two ounces of cannabis, sixteen grams of cannabis extract and eight hundred milligrams of edible cannabis outside the consumer's private residence; 2) any cannabis in excess of the amounts described in Item 1) of this subparagraph shall be stored in the person's residence and shall not be visible from a public place; and 3) the division shall not limit the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol concentration in a cannabis product; provided that the division may adopt requirements for apportionment and packaging of cannabis products;

(5) rules on advertising and marketing of cannabis products;

(6) rules on how a licensee may display cannabis products for sale;

(7) procedures that promote and encourage full participation in the cannabis industry governed by the Cannabis Regulation Act by representatives of communities that have been disproportionately harmed by rates of arrest through the enforcement of cannabis prohibitions in law and policy, rural communities likely to be impacted by cannabis production and agricultural producers from economically disadvantaged communities;

(8) procedures that promote and encourage racial, ethnic, gender and geographic diversity and New Mexico residency among license applicants, licensees and cannabis industry employees;

(9) rules for a certification process to identify cannabis products for consumers from integrated cannabis microbusinesses or cannabis producer microbusinesses or owned by representatives of communities that have been disproportionately harmed by rates of arrest through the enforcement of cannabis prohibitions in law and policy and underserved communities that include tribal, acequia, land grant-merced and other rural historic communities;

(10) in consultation with the economic development department, development of a technical assistance resource guide for rural New Mexico residents who are seeking to establish vertically integrated cannabis establishments, cannabis producer microbusinesses or integrated cannabis microbusinesses;

(11) in consultation with the department of environment, rules to establish:

(a) health and safety standards applicable to the research, production and manufacture of cannabis products;

(b) standards for food and product safety applicable to cannabis products; and

(c) which additives are approved for and prohibited from inclusion in cannabis products; provided that nicotine shall be prohibited;

(12) in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture and the department of environment, rules to establish standards for quality control, inspection and testing of cannabis products for potency and contaminants, except for cannabis produced or harvested for research purposes and not for ingestion; provided that all such rules and standards shall be consistent with the rules and standards for testing of medical cannabis products; and

(13) in consultation with the state fire marshal's office of the homeland security and emergency management department, rules with regard to health and safety.

C. No later than January 1, 2022, the division shall promulgate rules that are consistent with industry standards relating to cannabis training and education programs, including:

(1) qualifications and procedures for licensure; and

(2) physical security, cybersecurity and, if applicable, security of information collected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 requirements.

D. No later than January 1, 2022, the division shall promulgate rules in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture, the department of environment and the office of the state engineer to establish:

(1) environmental protections; and

(2) protocols to ensure licensees' compliance with state and local laws and ordinances governing food and product safety, occupational health and safety, environmental impacts, natural resource protection, water use and quality, water supply, hazardous materials, pesticide use and wastewater discharge.

E. No later than January 1, 2022, the division shall adopt rules in consultation with the department of health to establish standards and determinations on requirements for reserving cannabis products for sale to qualified patients, primary caregivers and reciprocal participants.

F. The division shall collect and publish annually on the division's website, and present to the appropriate interim committee of the legislature, a report describing demographic data on license applicants, controlling persons and employees of cannabis establishments, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, residential status and whether the applicants, persons, employees or the locations where the cannabis products are produced, manufactured, sold, tested or researched are located in an underserved rural community, including tribal, acequia, land grant-merced or other rural historic communities.

G. The "cannabis regulatory advisory committee" shall be created no later than September 1, 2021. The committee shall advise the division on the development of rules pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act, including best practices and the promotion of economic and cultural diversity in licensing and employment opportunities and protection of public health and safety while ensuring a regulated environment for commercial cannabis activity that does not impose unreasonable barriers that would perpetuate, rather than reduce and eliminate, the illicit market for cannabis. A person appointed to the cannabis regulatory advisory committee shall not hold any ownership interest or investment in a licensed person pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act; provided that the superintendent may appoint a person who holds an ownership interest in a licensed person as a nonvoting member. The committee shall consist of the following members:

(1) the chief public defender or the chief public defender's designee;

(2) a district attorney appointed by the New Mexico district attorney association;

(3) a municipal police chief appointed by the New Mexico association of chiefs of police;

(4) a county sheriff appointed by the executive director of the New Mexico association of counties; and

(5) one member for each of the following groups or professional qualifications, appointed by the superintendent:

(a) a cannabis policy advocacy organization;

(b) a labor organization;

(d) a state or local agency with relevant expertise as the director and the superintendent deem appropriate;

(e) an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo with relevant expertise as the director and the superintendent deem appropriate;

(f) expertise in public health;

(g) expertise in regulating commercial activity for adult-use intoxicating substances;

(h) expertise and experience in cannabis laboratory science;

(i) expertise in environmental science;

(j) expertise in small business development;

(k) expertise in water resources;

(l) expertise in other relevant areas as the director and the superintendent deem appropriate; and

(m) previous experience as a cannabis retailer, cannabis producer or cannabis manufacturer and who is a nonvoting member.

H. The cannabis regulatory advisory committee shall elect from among its members a chair and such other officers as it deems necessary. The committee shall meet at the call of the chair, the director or the superintendent. A majority of members currently serving constitutes a quorum for the conduct of business. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the superintendent.

I. Public voting members of the cannabis regulatory advisory committee are entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided for state employees pursuant to the Per Diem and Mileage Act and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.

J. The division shall:

(1) monitor the supply and demand of cannabis products produced in New Mexico by licensees and present annually to the appropriate interim committee of the legislature the impacts of supply on illicit cannabis products markets and adequate supply of cannabis products for qualified patients and reciprocal participants;

(2) request the department of public safety to enforce the provisions of the Cannabis Regulation Act as deemed necessary; [and]

(3) undertake studies and conduct courses of instruction for division employees that will improve the operations of the division and advance its purposes; and

(4) receive and maintain information and data from the department of public safety and the federal bureau of investigation relating to licensing disqualifications based on criminal history."

SECTION 3. Section 26-2C-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021 (1st S.S.), Chapter 4, Section 7) is amended to read:

"26-2C-7. COMMERCIAL CANNABIS ACTIVITY LICENSING--APPLICATION--ISSUANCE AND DENIAL OF A LICENSE.--

A. A license issued pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act shall not be subject to execution, attachment, a security transaction, liens or receivership.

B. In carrying out its commercial cannabis activity licensing duties, the division shall:

(1) [no later than September 1, 2021] accept and [begin processing] process license applications; [for cannabis producers, cannabis producer microbusinesses and any person properly licensed and in good standing as a licensed cannabis producer pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

(2) no later than January 1, 2022, accept and begin processing license applications for all license types;

(3)] (2) require as a condition of licensing pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act that the applicant demonstrate that the applicant has a legal right to a commercial water supply, water rights or another source of water sufficient to meet the water needs as determined by the division related to the license as evidenced by documentation from the office of the state engineer of a valid water right or from a water provider that the use of water for cannabis production is compliant with that water provider's rules; and

[(4)] (3) if an applicant applies for a cannabis producer license, [or a cannabis manufacturer license in addition to the requirements in Paragraph (3) of this subsection] require that the applicant submit a plan to use, or demonstrate to the division that the applicant cannot feasibly use, energy and water reduction opportunities, including:

(a) [for a cannabis producer] drip irrigation and water collection;

(b) natural lighting and energy efficiency measures; and

(5) allow commercial cannabis activity retail sales no later than April 1, 2022 and otherwise allow activities authorized by the Cannabis Regulation Act or the medical cannabis program as of the time of licensure of a licensee, so long as a minimum of twenty-five percent of monthly cannabis sales are to qualified patients, primary caregivers and reciprocal participants or sold wholesale to other licensees that meet or exceed the twenty-five percent sales to qualified patients, primary caregivers and reciprocal participants until December 31, 2022.]

C. An application for licensure shall be signed by the applicant or, if the applicant is a corporation or other legal entity, signed by an officer or other person with legal authority to sign documents for the corporation or other legal entity. Once the division deems an application complete, the division has ninety days to issue or deny a license application.

D. The division shall deny an application for an initial license or renewal if:

(1) the application does not include information required by the division; or

(2) the applicant or a controlling person of the applicant has been convicted of an offense that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of the applicant's business; provided that if the division determines that the applicant or controlling person is otherwise qualified for a license and that issuing a license to the applicant would not compromise public safety, the division shall conduct a thorough review of the conviction, including the nature of the offense, surrounding circumstances and any evidence of the applicant's or controlling person's rehabilitation following the conviction, and based on that review, determine whether the applicant should be issued a license.

E. For purposes of Subsection D of this section, the following are considered substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of a person seeking a license:

(1) a felony conviction involving fraud, deceit or embezzlement;

(2) a felony conviction for hiring, employing or otherwise using a person younger than eighteen years of age to:

(a) prepare for sale, transport or carry a controlled substance; or

(b) sell, give away or offer to sell a controlled substance to any person; and

(3) any other offense as determined by the division.

F. A conviction for which the related sentence, including any term of probation or parole, is completed for the possession, use, manufacture, distribution or dispensing or the possession with the intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense cannabis is not considered substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of a person seeking a license and shall not be the sole ground on which an application is denied. The division shall comply with the provisions of the Criminal Offender Employment Act.

G. The division shall deny an application if an applicant, a controlling person or the premises for which a license is sought does not qualify for licensure pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act.

H. The division shall not license a person who has had a license that was issued pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act or the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act revoked by the division or the department of health in the three years immediately preceding the date on which the person filed a new application.

I. Unless otherwise provided in the Cannabis Regulation Act, a person whose license has been revoked may reapply for a license after a period of three years. The division may consider all of the circumstances resulting in the revocation in determining whether to issue a new license.

[J. The division shall adopt rules providing for submission of an applicant's fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation to conduct a national criminal history background check and to the department of public safety to conduct a state criminal history check for the following licensees:

(1) cannabis manufacturer;

(2) cannabis producer;

(3) cannabis producer microbusiness;

(4) cannabis research laboratory;

(5) cannabis retailer;

(6) cannabis testing laboratory;

(7) integrated cannabis microbusiness; and

(8) vertically integrated cannabis establishment.

K. The division shall conduct national criminal history background checks and state criminal history checks on the following:

(1) if an applicant is a limited partnership, each partner of the limited partnership;

(2) if the applicant is a limited liability company, each member of the limited liability company;

(3) if the applicant is a corporation, each director and officer of the corporation; and

(4) any controlling person of the applicant.

L. Arrest record information received from the federal bureau of investigation and the department of public safety shall be confidential, shall not be considered a public record pursuant to the Public Records Act and shall not be disclosed to persons not directly involved in the decision affecting the applicant.]

J. To investigate the suitability of an applicant for licensure for the medical cannabis program or commercial cannabis activity, the division shall have access to criminal history records information furnished by the department of public safety and the federal bureau of investigation, subject to any restrictions imposed by federal law. If the division considers an applicant's criminal history record, the division shall also consider information provided by the applicant about the criminal history record, including evidence of rehabilitation, character references and educational achievements.

K. An applicant for a license to conduct commercial cannabis activity shall undergo a state and federal criminal history records check, and the applicant shall submit an electronic set of fingerprints to the department of public safety for that purpose. The department of public safety shall conduct a check of state records and forward the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history records check to determine the existence and content of a record of convictions and arrests in this state or other law enforcement jurisdictions and to generate a criminal history records check in accordance with rules of the department of public safety and regulations of the federal bureau of investigation. The department may acquire a name-based criminal history record check for an applicant or a licensee who has twice submitted to a fingerprint-based criminal history record check and whose fingerprints are unclassifiable. The department of public safety shall review the information obtained from the criminal history records check and shall compile and provide that information to the division. The division shall use the information resulting from the fingerprint-based criminal history records check to investigate and determine whether an applicant is qualified to hold a cannabis license.

L. Criminal history information received from the department of public safety or the federal bureau of investigation that is not already a matter of public record shall:

(1) be confidential;

(2) be restricted to the exclusive use of the division for evaluating the applicant's eligibility or disqualification for licensure;

(3) not be considered a public record pursuant to the Public Records Act; and

(4) not be disclosed to anyone other than public employees directly involved in the decision affecting the applicant."