935 CMR 501.181 Minimum Acceptable Equity Standards Governing Municipalities and Host Communities

• Library: Code of Massachusetts Regulations
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register 1511, December 22, 2023
• Citation: 935 CMR 501.181
• Year: 2023

(1) 935 CMR 935 CMRundefined501.181 is governed by M.G.L. c. 94G §§ 3 and 4, as amended by St. 2022, c. 180. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 94G § 3, the Commission must establish minimum acceptable standards for Host Communities to promote and encourage full participation in the regulated Marijuana industry by people from communities that were disproportionately harmed by Marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact those communities.

(2) M.G.L. c. 94G § 4(a)(xxxi) and (xxxii) empowers the Commission to establish procedures for municipalities to promote and encourage full participation in the regulated Marijuana industry during negotiations of HCAs with Social Equity Businesses and to develop minimum acceptable standards governing HCA negotiations with Social Equity Businesses. The Commission is further authorized to develop best practices for HCA negotiations between municipalities and License Applicants that have been designated as Social Equity Program Participants or Economic Empowerment Priority Applicants.

(3) Equity Standards for Host Communities to Promote and Encourage Full Participation in the regulated Marijuana industry.

(a) Municipalities are presumed to have met the Commission's minimum acceptable equity standards for promoting and encouraging full participation in the regulated Marijuana industry by taking one of the following actions: 1. Adopting an ordinance or bylaw to exclusively permit Social Equity Businesses for 3 years or until the goals of the exclusivity period have been met; 2. Adopting the Model Ordinance or Bylaw created by the Commission to permit Social Equity Businesses; or 3. Creating a Local Approval Process for equity applicants that is administered on a 1:1 basis, where a General Applicant may be approved only after a Social Equity Business has commenced operations. Host Communities may choose to administer a 1:1 Local Approval Process until such time as 50% of the Licensees operating in the Host Community are Social Equity Businesses.

(b) Notwithstanding 935 CMR 935 CMRundefined501.181(3)(a), a Host Community shall adopt, but not be limited to, the following transparent practices to promote and encourage full equity participation 1. A Host Community shall publicize certain information in a conspicuous location at its offices and on its website which shall, at minimum, include: a. All required steps of a Host Community's Local Approval Process, including, but not limited to, all associated fees, deadlines, and meeting schedules for local bodies involved in the Local Approval Process; b. Identification of key individuals involved in a Host Community's Local Approval Process including, but not limited to their name, title, business address, and business contact information such as email address or phone number; c. A list of all documentation required by a Host Community's Local Approval Process, in downloadable form and paper form; d. Identification of application criteria for local approval to operate a MTC and scoring methodologies relied on by a Host Community; e. General scoring information for all applicants and a Host Community's scoring of each individual applicant; f. A Host Community's explanation, in narrative form, of its reasoning for the approval or denial of an application; and g. Any other information required by the Commission. 2. A Host Community shall develop an equity plan to promote and encourage full participation in the regulated cannabis industry by individuals from communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition and enforcement and shall publicize its equity plan in a conspicuous location at its offices and on its website. A...