HB5580 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 25215 CPF 34486 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5580

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Lamont J. Robinson, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

410 ILCS 705/7-20

Amends the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. Provides that for Social Equity Applicants, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture shall waive 100% (rather than 50%) of any nonrefundable license application fees, any nonrefundable fees associated with purchasing a license to operate a cannabis business establishment, and any surety bond or other financial requirements, provided a Social Equity Applicant meets certain qualifications at the time the payment is due.

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 Section 7-20 as follows:

(410 ILCS 705/7-20)

Sec. 7-20. Fee waivers.

(a) For Social Equity Applicants, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture shall waive 100% 50% of any nonrefundable license application fees, any nonrefundable fees associated with purchasing a license to operate a cannabis business establishment, and any surety bond or other financial requirements, provided a Social Equity Applicant meets the following qualifications at the time the payment is due:

(1) the applicant, including all individuals and entities with 10% or greater ownership and all parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, has less than a total of $750,000 of income in the previous calendar year; and

(2) the applicant, including all individuals and entities with 10% or greater ownership and all parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, has no more than 2 other licenses for cannabis business establishments in the State of Illinois.

(b) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture may require Social Equity Applicants to attest that they meet the requirements for a fee waiver as provided in subsection (a) and to provide evidence of annual total income in the previous calendar year.

(c) If the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or the Department of Agriculture determines that an applicant who applied as a Social Equity Applicant is not eligible for such status, the applicant shall be provided an additional 10 days to provide alternative evidence that he or she qualifies as a Social Equity Applicant. Alternatively, the applicant may pay the remainder of the waived fee and be considered as a non-Social Equity Applicant. If the applicant cannot do either, then the Departments may keep the initial application fee and the application shall not be graded.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)