Section 1300.115  License Award, Issuance and Transferability

a)         License Issuance – Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License

Top-scoring applicants will be awarded a CAUCCL.  A cultivation center that is awarded a CAUCCL pursuant to the criteria set forth in Section 1300.105 shall not grow, purchase, possess, or sell cannabis or cannabis-infused products until the person has received an Adult Use Cultivation Center License issued by the Department. [410 ILCS 705/20-15(e)]

b)         License Issuance – Adult Use Cultivation Center License

1)         A person or entity is only eligible to receive an Adult Use Cultivation Center License if the person or entity has first been awarded a CAUCCL. [410 ILCS 705/20-21(a)]

2)         A cultivation center license shall be issued for the specific location identified on the application, and is valid only for the owner, premises and name designated on the license and the location for which it is issued.

3)         Should the applicant be awarded a cultivation center license, it shall pay a fee of $100,000 prior to receiving the license. [410 ILCS 705/20-20(d)]

4)         The Department will not issue an Adult Use Cultivation Center License until:

A)        The Department has inspected the cultivation center site and proposed operations and verified that they are in compliance with the Act and local zoning laws;

B)        The CAUCCL holder has paid a registration fee of $100,000 or a prorated amount accounting for the difference of time between when the Adult Use Cultivation Center License is issued and March 31 of the next even-numbered year; and

C)        The CAUCCL holder has met all the requirements in the Act and this Part. [410 ILCS 705/20-20(b)]

c)         Transfer of License

A cultivation center license shall not be transferable, in whole or in part, without Department approval, with the following exceptions:

1)         A cultivation center license may be reissued, without charge, solely in the name of the surviving spouse or domestic partner of a deceased licensee if the license was issued in the names of both of the parties;

2)         A cultivation center license may be transferred, without charge, to an heir of a deceased licensee, as determined by the Probate Act of 1975.  For the purpose of considering the qualifications of the heir to receive a cultivation center license, the Department will require a criminal background check and the heir will be subject to all other requirements of the Act and this Part.

d)         Change of Business Location

In the event that the Department approves the new location as meeting all requirements of the Act and this Part, the cultivation center shall have a brief transition period of no more than 90 days, approved by the Department, to transfer its inventory and begin operations at the new location.

1)         The transition period shall not begin until the new location is ready to begin production.

2)         No product may be transferred to or cultivated at the new location prior to the beginning date of this approved transition period.

3)         Any product remaining at the original location past the transition period shall be destroyed in accordance with Subpart I (Destruction of Cannabis).

4)         The cultivation center shall notify the Department in writing or by electronic transmission once the transfer of inventory is complete and production has begun at the new location.

5)         Upon inspection and verification by the Department that the new location is in compliance with the Act and this Part, the Department will issue a license modification reflecting the new location.  The modified license shall have the same expiration date as the previously issued license.

e)         Sale of Stock

The proposed sale of any outstanding or issued stock of a corporation licensed under the Act, or any proposed change in the officers or board members of the corporation, must be reported to the Department and Department approval must be obtained before the changes are made.  A fee of $1000 will be charged for the processing of the change of stock ownership or corporate officers or board members.

f)         The proposed change of any person or principal officer of any licensee must be reported to the Department and Department approval must be obtained before the changes are made.  A fee of $1000 will be charged for the processing of any such change.

g)         A cultivation center license shall not be leased or subcontracted, in whole or in part.

h)         A cultivation center license is issued upon the following condition:  A cultivation center may not either directly or indirectly discriminate in price between different dispensing organizations, craft growers, or infusers that are purchasing a like grade, strain, brand, and quality of cannabis or cannabis-infused product.  Nothing in this subsection (h) prevents a cultivation centers from pricing cannabis differently based on differences in the cost of manufacturing or processing, the quantities sold, such as volume discounts, or the way the products are delivered. [410 ILCS 705/20-30(e)]

i)          A cultivation center license is issued upon the following condition:  It is unlawful for any person having a cultivation center license or any officer, associate, member, representative, or agent of the licensee to offer or deliver money, or anything else of value, directly or indirectly to any person having an Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act (the licensees), or to any person connected with or in any way representing, or to any member of the family of, the person holding one of the licenses, or to any stockholders in any corporation engaged in the retail sale of cannabis, or to any officer, manager, agent, or representative of the licensee to obtain preferential placement within the dispensing organization, including, without limitation, on shelves and in display cases where purchasers can view products, or on the dispensing organization's website. [410 ILCS 705/20-30(n)]

j)          Licensure Condition

1)         A cultivation license is issued upon the following condition:  No person or entity shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, in more than 3 cultivation centers licensed under Article 20 of the Act.

2)         Further, no person or entity that is employed by, is an agent of, has a contract to receive payment in any form from, a cultivation center, is a principal officer of a cultivation center, or an entity controlled by or affiliated with, a principal officer of a cultivation center shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, in a cultivation center that would result in the person or entity owning or controlling, in combination with any cultivation center, principal officer of a cultivation center, or entity controlled or affiliated with a principal officer of a cultivation center by which he, she, or it is employed, is an agent of, or participates in the management of, more than 3 cultivation center licenses. [410 ILCS 705/20-30(j)]