(410 ILCS 705/7-10)

Sec. 7-10. Cannabis Business Development Fund.

(a) There is created in the State treasury a special fund, which shall be held separate and apart from all other State moneys, to be known as the Cannabis Business Development Fund. The Cannabis Business Development Fund shall be exclusively used for the following purposes:

(1) to provide low-interest rate loans to Qualified Social Equity Applicants to pay for ordinary and necessary expenses to start and operate a cannabis business establishment permitted by this Act;

(2) to provide grants to Qualified Social Equity Applicants to pay for ordinary and necessary expenses to start and operate a cannabis business establishment permitted by this Act;

(3) to compensate the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for any costs related to the provision of low-interest loans and grants to Qualified Social Equity Applicants;

(4) to pay for outreach that may be provided or targeted to attract and support Social Equity Applicants and Qualified Social Equity Applicants;

(5) (blank);

(6) to conduct any study or research concerning the participation of minorities, women, veterans, or people with disabilities in the cannabis industry, including, without limitation, barriers to such individuals entering the industry as equity owners of cannabis business establishments;

(7) (blank); and

(8) to assist with job training and technical assistance for residents in Disproportionately Impacted Areas.

(b) All moneys collected under Sections 15-15 and 15-20 for Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses issued before January 1, 2021 and remunerations made as a result of transfers of permits awarded to Qualified Social Equity Applicants shall be deposited into the Cannabis Business Development Fund.

(c) (Blank).

(c-5) In addition to any other transfers that may be provided for by law, on July 1, 2023, or as soon thereafter as practical, the State Comptroller shall direct and the State Treasurer shall transfer the sum of $40,000,000 from the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Fund to the Cannabis Business Development Fund.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the Cannabis Business Development Fund is not subject to sweeps, administrative charge-backs, or any other fiscal or budgetary maneuver that would in any way transfer any amounts from the Cannabis Business Development Fund into any other fund of the State.

(Source: P.A. 103-8, eff. 6-7-23.)