New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) and the state Legislature last week reached a deal to end the state’s cannabis industry labor peace agreement requirements, while also ending plans for an industry wage board. Hochul signed the bill into law after reaching the compromise with lawmakers.
The deal centered on S.10643, which repealed the labor peace agreements section of the adult-use cannabis law but created a wage board for the industry within the state Department of Labor. In an October 28 memorandum on the bill, Hochul said a recently-passed amendment to the state’s adult-use cannabis law “helps guarantee that licensees and employees continue to work together in a mutually beneficial manner, without imposing burdensome requirements on the other.”
However, Hochul said in the memorandum that “the bill as passed would create uncertainty in the industry by imposing a burdensome reporting requirement on applicants.” She also said the creation of a wage board could raise costs for businesses “and drive consumers to the illicit market.”
“This further amendment would preserve the repeal of the labor peace agreement requirement in full, while removing the wage board component of the bill. Additionally, it would give the Cannabis Control Board the discretion to prioritize adult-use license application, submission, review, selection, and issuance based on an applicant’s voluntary entry into a labor peace agreement,” Hochul said in the memorandum.
The final law preserves the full repeal of the labor peace agreement requirement while removing the wage board component. It also gives the Cannabis Control Board discretion to prioritize adult-use license application, submission, review, selection, and issuance based on an applicant’s voluntary entry into a labor peace agreement.
The labor peace agreement requirements were part of the state’s adult-use cannabis law, which S.10643 amended. Under the law as previously passed, the requirements applied to licensees and employees in the industry.
Hochul’s memorandum said the recently-passed amendment helps guarantee that licensees and employees continue to work together in a mutually beneficial manner, without imposing burdensome requirements on the other. The governor and Legislature reached the deal last week, and Hochul signed the bill into law following the compromise.
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