(410 ILCS 130/85)

Sec. 85. Issuance and denial of medical cannabis cultivation permit.

(a) The Department of Agriculture may register up to 22 cultivation center registrations for operation. The Department of Agriculture may not issue more than one registration per each Illinois State Police District boundary as specified on the date of January 1, 2013. The Department of Agriculture may not issue less than the 22 registrations if there are qualified applicants who have applied with the Department.

(b) The registrations shall be issued and renewed annually as determined by administrative rule.

(c) The Department of Agriculture shall determine a registration fee by rule.

(d) A cultivation center may only operate if it has been issued a valid registration from the Department of Agriculture. When applying for a cultivation center registration, the applicant shall submit the following in accordance with Department of Agriculture rules:

(1) the proposed legal name of the cultivation center;

(2) the proposed physical address of the cultivation center and description of the enclosed, locked facility as it applies to cultivation centers where medical cannabis will be grown, harvested, manufactured, packaged, or otherwise prepared for distribution to a dispensing organization;

(3) the name, address, and date of birth of each principal officer and board member of the cultivation center, provided that all those individuals shall be at least 21 years of age;

(4) any instance in which a business that any of the prospective board members of the cultivation center had managed or served on the board of the business and was convicted, fined, censured, or had a registration or license suspended or revoked in any administrative or judicial proceeding;

(5) cultivation, inventory, and packaging plans;

(6) proposed operating by-laws that include procedures for the oversight of the cultivation center, development and implementation of a plant monitoring system, medical cannabis container tracking system, accurate record keeping, staffing plan, and security plan reviewed by the Illinois State Police that are in accordance with the rules issued by the Department of Agriculture under this Act. A physical inventory shall be performed of all plants and medical cannabis containers on a weekly basis;

(7) experience with agricultural cultivation techniques and industry standards;

(8) any academic degrees, certifications, or relevant experience with related businesses;

(9) the identity of every person, association, trust, or corporation having any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the cultivation center operation with respect to which the registration is sought. If the disclosed entity is a trust, the application shall disclose the names and addresses of the beneficiaries; if a corporation, the names and addresses of all stockholders and directors; if a partnership, the names and addresses of all partners, both general and limited;

(10) verification from the Illinois State Police that all background checks of the principal officer, board members, and registered agents have been conducted and those individuals have not been convicted of an excluded offense;

(11) provide a copy of the current local zoning ordinance to the Department of Agriculture and verify that proposed cultivation center is in compliance with the local zoning rules issued in accordance with Section 140;

(12) an application fee set by the Department of Agriculture by rule; and

(13) any other information required by Department of Agriculture rules, including, but not limited to a cultivation center applicant's experience with the cultivation of agricultural or horticultural products, operating an agriculturally related business, or operating a horticultural business.

(e) An application for a cultivation center permit must be denied if any of the following conditions are met:

(1) the applicant failed to submit the materials required by this Section, including if the applicant's plans do not satisfy the security, oversight, inventory, or recordkeeping rules issued by the Department of Agriculture;

(2) the applicant would not be in compliance with local zoning rules issued in accordance with Section 140;

(3) one or more of the prospective principal officers or board members has been convicted of an excluded offense;

(4) one or more of the prospective principal officers or board members has served as a principal officer or board member for a registered dispensing organization or cultivation center that has had its registration revoked;

(5) one or more of the principal officers or board members is under 21 years of age;

(6) a principal officer or board member of the cultivation center has been convicted of a felony under the laws of this State, any other state, or the United States;

(7) a principal officer or board member of the cultivation center has been convicted of any violation of Article 28 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or substantially similar laws of any other jurisdiction; or

(8) the person has submitted an application for a certificate under this Act which contains false information.

(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)