Relates to labor peace agreements and the cannabis industry wage board.

Full Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10643 IN SENATE June 1, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the cannabis law and the labor law, in relation to labor peace agreements and the cannabis wage industry board; and repealing certain provisions of the cannabis law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 29 of section 3 of the cannabis law is 2 REPEALED. 3 § 2 . Subdivision 24 of section 10 of the cannabis law is amended to 4 read as follows: 5 24. The board shall, two years after the first retail sale pursuant to 6 this chapter, review the impact of licenses issued pursuant to article 7 four of this chapter with substantial market share for any category of 8 licensure, to determine if such licensees are impairing the achievement 9 of the goals of inclusion of social equity licensees, fairness for small 10 businesses and distressed farmers, adequate supplies of cannabis and 11 prevention of dominant marketplace participation in the cannabis indus- 12 try. The board may modify the terms of the licensee's license consistent 13 with the determination and to better achieve those goals. Any such 14 modification may be appealed by the licensee for a formal hearing as 15 provided in section seventeen of this article. For any licensee such 16 review shall include violations of New York state labor law [ and labor 17 peace agreements ]. Further, an existing collective bargaining agreement 18 shall not be infringed or voided by any licensee who after such review 19 suffers from a reduction in market share. 20 § 3. Subparagraphs (iii), (iv) and (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 1 of section 35 of the cannabis law are amended to read as follows: 22 (iii) [ that the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement 23 with a bona fide labor organization that is actively engaged in repres- 24 enting or attempting to represent the applicant's employees and the 25 maintenance of such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material 26 condition of certification; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD16055-03-6 S. 10643 2 1 (iv) ] the applicant's status as a for-profit business entity or not- 2 for-profit corporation; and 3 [ (v) ] (iv) the application shall include the name, residence address 4 and title of each of the officers and directors and the name and resi- 5 dence address of any person or entity that is a member of the applicant. 6 Each such person, if an individual, or lawful representative if a legal 7 entity, shall submit an affidavit with the application setting forth: 8 (A) any position of management, interest or ownership during the 9 preceding ten years of a ten per centum or greater interest in any other 10 cannabis business, or applicant, located in or outside this state, manu- 11 facturing or distributing drugs including indirect management, interest, 12 or ownership of parent companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates; 13 (B) whether such person or any such business has been convicted of a 14 felony or had a registration or license suspended or revoked in any 15 administrative or judicial proceeding, and if applicable, the history of 16 violations or administrative penalties with respect to any license to 17 cultivate, manufacture, distribute or sell adult-use cannabis or medical 18 cannabis; and 19 (C) such other information as the board may reasonably require. 20 § 4. Subparagraphs (vi), (vii) and (viii) of paragraph (a) of subdivi- 21 sion 3 of section 35 of the cannabis law are amended to read as follows: 22 (vi) the applicant and its managing officers are of good moral charac- 23 ter; and 24 (vii) [ the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement with a 25 bona fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing or 26 attempting to represent the applicant's employees; and the maintenance 27 of such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition 28 of registration; and 29 (viii) ] the applicant satisfies any other conditions as determined by 30 the board. 31 § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 and subdivision 7 of section 35 of 32 the cannabis law are amended to read as follows: 33 (a) The board shall renew a registration unless [ he or she ] the board 34 determines and finds that: 35 (i) the applicant is unlikely to maintain or be able to maintain 36 effective control against diversion; 37 (ii) the applicant is unlikely to comply with all state laws applica- 38 ble to the activities in which it may engage under the registration; 39 (iii) it is not in the public interest to renew the registration 40 because the number of registered organizations in an area is excessive 41 to reasonably serve the area; or 42 (iv) [ the applicant has either violated or terminated its labor peace 43 agreement; or 44 (v) ] the applicant has substantively violated the laws of another 45 jurisdiction, in which they operate or have operated a cannabis license 46 or registration, related to the operation of a cannabis business. 47 7. The board may suspend or terminate the registration of a registered 48 organization, on grounds and using procedures under this article relat- 49 ing to a license, to the extent consistent with this article. [ The board 50 shall suspend or terminate the registration in the event that a regis- 51 tered organization violates or terminates the applicable labor peace 52 agreement. ] Conduct in compliance with this article which may violate 53 conflicting federal law, shall not be grounds to suspend or terminate a 54 registration. 55 § 6. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 of section 64 of the cannabis law 56 is amended to read as follows: S. 10643 3 1 (i) [ the applicant has entered into a labor peace agreement with a 2 bona-fide labor organization that is actively engaged in representing or 3 attempting to represent the applicant's employees, and the maintenance 4 of such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition 5 of licensure. ] In evaluating applications from entities with twenty-five 6 or more employees, the office shall give consideration to whether appli- 7 cants have entered into an agreement with a statewide or local bona-fide 8 building and construction trades organization for construction work on 9 its licensed facilities; 10 § 7. Subdivision 5 of section 66 of the cannabis law is REPEALED. 11 § 7-a. Section 66 of the cannabis law is amended by adding a new 12 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 13 5. Each applicant or renewal applicant, shall provide the full owner- 14 ship structure of the licensee, any management service agreements, 15 including the full ownership structure of the company providing such 16 services, and a report to the board that will be made publicly available 17 on the office's website on the following data: 18 (a) the range of salary and/or hourly rates of pay offered for each 19 job title; and 20 (b) the average number of hours scheduled or offered for each posi- 21 tion. 22 § 8. Section 665 of the labor law is renumbered section 669 and a new 23 section 665 is added to read as follows: 24 § 665. Cannabis industry wage board. 1. The commissioner shall hereby 25 convene a cannabis industry wage board. The wage board shall be 26 comprised of three members: one representative of the New York state 27 licensed cannabis industry; one representative of the New York state 28 AFL-CIO; and one member appointed by the commissioner, who shall be 29 selected from the general public and designated as chairperson. The wage 30 board shall hold its first hearing no later than March first, two thou- 31 sand twenty-seven. The members of the board shall not receive a salary 32 or other compensation but shall be paid actual and necessary traveling 33 expenses while engaged in the performance of their duties. 34 2. Two-thirds of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. 35 The chairperson may from time to time formulate rules governing the 36 manner in which the wage board shall function and perform its duties 37 under this article. 38 3. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings. The 39 board may also consult with cannabis employers, cannabis workers, and 40 their respective representatives, in the occupation or occupations 41 involved, and with such other persons, as it shall determine. The board 42 shall also have power to administer oaths and to require by subpoena the 43 attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of all books, 44 records, and other evidence relative to any matters under inquiry. Such 45 subpoenas shall be signed and issued by the chairperson of the board and 46 shall be served and have the same effect as if issued out of the supreme 47 court. The board shall have power to cause depositions of witnesses 48 residing within or without the state to be taken in the manner 49 prescribed for like depositions in civil actions in the supreme court. 50 The board shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of proce- 51 dure or evidence. 52 4. The wage board shall only meet within the state and must hold at 53 least three hearings at which the public will be afforded an opportunity 54 to provide comments. At least one Spanish language interpreter shall be 55 present at each public hearing to interpret oral testimony delivered in 56 Spanish. Where a witness reveals the need for an interpreter in a S. 10643 4 1 language other than Spanish, to the extent practicable, an interpreter 2 in that language shall be provided. Any materials advertising such hear- 3 ings shall be bilingual in English and Spanish. Any written materials 4 disbursed at the hearing or subsequent to the hearing, including written 5 testimony and hearing transcripts, shall be available in English, Span- 6 ish, and, to the extent practicable, any other language upon request. 7 5. The wage board shall make a report to the governor and the legisla- 8 ture, including, but not limited to, its recommendations as to minimum 9 hourly wages. The report shall recommend prospective wage increases in 10 the same manner as minimum wage increases pursuant to subdivision 1-b of 11 section six hundred fifty-two of this article. The report shall include 12 specific recommendations for workers in each of the following areas: 13 cultivation; processing and packaging; distribution; and retail and 14 delivery. The board shall have the discretion to include specific recom- 15 mendations for additional classifications of cannabis industry worker, 16 and an industry-wide minimum wage for workers not captured within any 17 specific classification, and shall have the discretion to determine that 18 wages in the industry are adequate. The report and recommendations of 19 the board shall be submitted only after a vote of not less than a major- 20 ity of all its members in support of such report and recommendations. 21 Such report shall be submitted no later than December thirty-first, two 22 thousand twenty-seven. 23 6. Nothing contained in the wage board's report or recommendations 24 shall diminish or limit any rights, protections, benefits or entitle- 25 ments currently enjoyed by and/or available to any cannabis worker in 26 the state. 27 7. The commissioner shall comply with section six hundred fifty-six of 28 this article upon receipt of the wage board's recommendations. The 29 commissioner may reconvene the same wage board or appoint a new wage 30 board in compliance with section six hundred fifty-nine of this article. 31 § 9. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, 32 sections seven-a and eight of this act shall take effect January 31, 33 2027.