HB0112

HOUSE BILL 112

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Tara L. Lujan

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; ADDING DEFINITIONS TO THE CANNABIS REGULATION ACT.

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, as amended) is amended to read:

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

A. "applicant" means a person seeking licensure;

[A.] B. "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 to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink or other product;

[B.] C. "cannabis consumption area" means an area of a licensed premises where cannabis products may be served and consumed;

[C.] D. "cannabis courier" means a person that transports commercial or medical cannabis products to consumers;

[D.] E. "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;

(8) an integrated cannabis microbusiness; or

(9) a cannabis consumption area;

[E.] F. "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;

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

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

(1) manufactures cannabis products;

(2) packages cannabis products for resale; or

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

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

(1) cultivates cannabis plants;

(2) transports unprocessed cannabis only to other cannabis establishments; or

(3) sells cannabis wholesale;

[I.] J. "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;

[J.] K. "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;

[K.] L. "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;

[L.] M. "cannabis retailer" means a person that sells cannabis products to consumers;

[M.] N. "cannabis testing laboratory" means a facility that samples, collects and tests cannabis products and transports cannabis products for the purpose of testing;

[N.] O. "commercial cannabis activity":

(1) means the cultivation, production, possession, manufacture, storage, testing, researching, packaging and 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 or to the personal cultivation or use of cannabis products;

[O.] P. "consumer" means a person twenty-one years of age or older who legally purchases, acquires, owns, possesses or uses a commercial cannabis product not for resale or a person who holds a medical cannabis program registry identification card issued by the department of health or is a reciprocal participant;

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

[Q.] R. "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;

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

[S.] T. "department" means the regulation and licensing department;

[T.] U. "director" means the director of the division;

[U.] V. "division" means the cannabis control division of the department;

[V.] W. "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;

[W.] X. "facility" means a building, space or grounds licensed for the production, storage, testing, manufacturing, distribution, sale or consumption of cannabis products;

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

[Y.] Z. "homegrown" or "homemade" means grown or made for purposes that are not for resale;

[Z.] AA. "illegal cannabis product" means a cannabis product that is:

(1) produced or manufactured outside New Mexico;

(2) produced, manufactured, distributed or sold in New Mexico by a person not licensed to produce, manufacture, distribute or sell the cannabis product; or

(3) produced, manufactured, distributed or sold by a person acting outside the limits of the person's license; provided that "illegal cannabis product" does not include homegrown or homemade cannabis products that comply with the provisions of the Cannabis Regulation Act;

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

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

[CC.] DD. "integrated cannabis microbusiness" means a person that is licensed 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 cannabis products produced or manufactured by that person or another cannabis producer microbusiness or integrated cannabis microbusiness;

(4) operation of only one retail establishment; and

(5) couriering of cannabis products to consumers;

[DD.] EE. "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 cannabis consumption areas, offices, kitchens, restrooms and storerooms;

(2) all areas outside of a building that are specifically included in the license;

(3) all areas of a standalone cannabis consumption area, including retail and other areas, whether in enclosed or outside spaces, and including private or members-only clubs where cannabis products are available for sale or consumption; and

(4) with respect to a location that is specifically licensed for the production of cannabis outside of a building, the amount of land that the licensee owns, leases or has a right to occupy that is identified in the application for licensure for cultivation of cannabis; provided that the licensed premises may be decreased but shall not be increased without permission of the division;

FF. "licensee" means a person that is licensed pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act;

[EE.] GG. "local jurisdiction" means a municipality, including a home rule municipality, or county;

[FF.] HH. "manufacture" means to compound, blend, extract, infuse, package and label or otherwise prepare a cannabis product;

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

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

[II.] KK. "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 and primary caregivers;

[JJ.] LL. "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;

[KK.] MM. "public space" means any place to which the general public has access;

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

[MM.] OO. "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;

[NN.] PP. "residence" or "household" means a housing unit and includes any place in or around the housing unit that is not a public space and at which an occupant of the housing unit produces, manufactures, keeps or stores homegrown or homemade cannabis products or stores legally purchased cannabis;

[OO.] QQ. "retail establishment" means a location at which cannabis products are sold directly to consumers;

[PP.] RR. "superintendent" means the superintendent of regulation and licensing;

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

[RR.] TT. "vertically integrated cannabis establishment" means a person that is authorized to act as one or more 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-3.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2024, Chapter 38, Section 5) is amended to read:

"26-2C-3.1. CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS--PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "director" means a person who serves on the corporate board of directors of a corporation licensed by the division as a cannabis establishment;

(2) "member and manager" includes those persons who are members in or managers of a limited liability company licensed by the division as a cannabis establishment and who are responsible for the operations of the limited liability company;

(3) "officer" means a president, one or more vice presidents, a secretary, a treasurer or a secretary-treasurer or a member of the executive committee, if different from these named officers, of a corporation licensed by the division as a cannabis establishment; and

(4) "partner" means a person who is a co-owner of a business licensed by the division as a cannabis establishment.

B. To investigate the suitability of an applicant 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.

C. 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 of public safety may acquire a name-based criminal history records 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.

D. 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 an 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.

[B.] E. The division and the department of public safety shall adopt rules [providing the procedures to be followed for submission of an applicant's biometric data to the department of public safety to conduct a state criminal history background check and for its submission of the biometric data to the federal bureau of investigation to conduct a national criminal history background check for the following cannabis establishments:

(1) cannabis courier;

(2) cannabis manufacturer;

(3) cannabis producer;

(4) cannabis producer microbusiness;

(5) cannabis research laboratory;

(6) cannabis retailer;

(7) cannabis testing laboratory;

(8) integrated cannabis microbusiness;

(9) vertically integrated cannabis establishment; and

(10) cannabis consumption licensees if different from cannabis retailer.

C. The division shall require state and national criminal history background checks for the following persons:

(1) if an applicant for licensure is a sole proprietor business, the sole proprietor;

(2) if an applicant for licensure is a limited partnership, each partner of the limited partnership;

(3) if the applicant for licensure is a limited liability company, each member and manager of the limited liability company;

(4) if the applicant for licensure is a corporation, each director and officer of the corporation; and

(5) any controlling person of the applicant for licensure, as defined in Section 26-2C-2 NMSA 1978.

D. The division shall use the information from the criminal history background check to evaluate the applicant's qualifications for licensure.

E. 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] to carry out the provisions of this section."

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

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

REVOCATION.--

A. 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) if a cannabis producer or cannabis producer microbusiness] (2) require as a condition of licensing that the applicant demonstrate that the applicant has a legal right to a commercial water supply, water rights or other 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) require as a condition of licensing for [any type of] a cannabis producer [or manufacturer license require] that the applicant [to] submit a plan to use, or demonstrate to the division that the applicant cannot feasibly use, energy or water reduction opportunities, including:

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

(b) natural lighting and energy efficiency measures; and

B. 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.

C. The division shall deny an application for an initial license or renewal if the application does not include information required by the division or the applicant does not meet the requirements of the Cannabis Regulation Act or rules promulgated in accordance with that act.

D. The division may refuse to issue, suspend or revoke a license in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act of any person who does not meet the qualifications for licensure, who is not in compliance with the Cannabis Regulation Act or rules promulgated in accordance with that act or for whom one or more of the following are substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of the applicant's or licensee's business in New Mexico:

(1) a tax lien related to cannabis activity in this or another state;

(2) a pending investigation or a felony indictment or conviction of the applicant or licensee or a controlling person of the applicant or licensee in this state or another state or by the federal government involving fraud, deceit or embezzlement;

(3) a pending investigation or a felony indictment or conviction of the applicant or licensee or a controlling person of the applicant or licensee involving producing, manufacturing, distributing, selling or giving away illegal cannabis products;

(4) the denial, suspension or revocation of a cannabis license in another state that would have the same result if occurring in New Mexico;

(5) a pending investigation or a felony indictment or conviction for hiring, employing or otherwise using a person younger than eighteen years of age or a person of any age who is a victim of trafficking, forced labor or other exploitation to produce, manufacture, transport or sell cannabis or a controlled substance;

(6) a licensee or controlling person that after a notice of noncompliance issued by the division refuses to follow division licensing requirements, state or local operational rules, public health and safety laws or rules or other provisions of state law pertaining to cannabis products; or

(7) any other governmental action pending or taken against an applicant, licensee or controlling person that in the division's determination makes the person unqualified to be licensed or involved in a cannabis business in New Mexico.

E. Production, manufacture, distribution, sale or possession of illegal cannabis product is grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of a license or for taking any other disciplinary action allowed by law or rule of the division.

F. If the division determines, after a review of pertinent circumstances provided in Subsection D of this section, that the applicant, licensee or controlling person otherwise meets the qualifications for licensure and that issuing a license does not compromise the state's cannabis program or the public health or safety, the division shall issue the license or close the suspension or revocation case.

G. A conviction for which the related sentence, including any term of probation or parole, has been completed for the production, possession, use, manufacture, distribution or sale or the possession with the intent to manufacture, distribute or sell 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 provisions of the Uniform Licensing Act and the Criminal Offender Employment Act shall govern consideration of criminal records required or permitted by the Cannabis Regulation Act.

H. 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.

I. 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.

J. 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."

- 29 -