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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR ENGROSSED
SENATE BILL NO. 1697 By: Jech of the Senate
and
Moore of the House
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to medical marijuana growing
operations; amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 427.14, as
last amended by Section 8, Chapter 584, O.S.L. 2021,
which relates to the medical marijuana b usiness
license; requiring bond to be submitted dur ing
application process if participating in growing
operations; requiring bond to be filed with the
Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority for designated
area of commercial growing operations; providing
minimum amount; allowing Authority to require
additional coverage; requiring amount should be
sufficient in event of loss o f license; providing for
codification; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 427.14, as
last amended by Section 8, Chapter 584, O.S.L. 20 21, is amended to
read as follows:
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Section 427.14 A. There is hereby created the medical
marijuana business license, which shall includ e the following
categories:
1. Medical marijuana commercial grower;
2. Medical marijuana processor;
3. Medical marijuana dispensary;
4. Medical marijuana transporter; and
5. Medical marijuana testing laboratory.
B. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Auth ority, with the aid of
the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, shall develop a
website for medical marijuana business applications.
C. The Authority shall make available o n its website in an
easy-to-find location, applications for a medical mari juana
business.
D. The nonrefundable application fee for a medical marijuana
business license shall be Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars
($2,500.00).
E. All applicants seeking lice nsure or licensure renewal as a
medical marijuana bu siness shall comply wi th the following general
requirements:
1. All applications for licenses and registrations authorized
pursuant to this section shall be made upon forms prescribed by the
Authority;
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2. Each application shall identify the city or cou nty in which
the applicant seeks to obtain licensure as a medical ma rijuana
business;
3. Applicants shall submit a complete application to the
Authority before the application may be accepted or considered;
4. All applications shall be complete and accurate in every
detail;
5. All applications shall includ e all attachments or
supplemental information required by the forms supplied by the
Authority;
6. All applications shall be accompanied by a full remittance
for the whole amount of the application fees. Application fees are
nonrefundable;
7. All applicants shall be approved for licensing review that,
at a minimum, meets the following criter ia:
a. all applicants shall be age twenty-five (25) years of
age or older,
b. any applicant applying as an individual shall show
proof that the applicant is an Okl ahoma resident
pursuant to paragraph 11 12 of this subsection,
c. any applicant applying as a n entity shall show that
seventy-five percent (75%) of all members, managers,
executive officers, partners, board members or any
other form of business ownership are Oklahoma
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residents pursuant to paragraph 11 12 of this
subsection,
d. all applying individ uals or entities shall be
registered to conduct business in this state,
e. all applicants shall disclose all ownership interests
pursuant to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient
Protection Act, and
f. applicants shall not have been convicted o f a
nonviolent felony in the last two (2) years, and any
other felony conviction within the last five (5)
years, shall not be current inmates , or currently
incarcerated in a jail or corrections facility;
8. There shall be no limit to the number of medical marijuana
business licenses or categories that an individual or entity can
apply for or receive, although each application and each categor y
shall require a separate application and application fee. A
commercial grower, processor and dispensary, or any c ombination
thereof, are authorized to share the same address or physical
location, subject to the restrictions set forth in the Oklahoma
Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act ;
9. All applicants for a medical marijuana business license,
research facility license or education facility license authorized
by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act shall
undergo an Oklahoma cr iminal history background check conducted by
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the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) within thirty (30)
days prior to the application for the license including:
a. individual applicants applying on their own behalf,
b. individuals applying on beh alf of an entity,
c. all principal officers of an entity, and
d. all owners of an entity as d efined by Section 427.2 of
this title;
10. All applicants for a medical marijuana business license
seeking to operate a commercial grow shall file along with their
application a bond as prescribed in Section 2 of this act ;
10. 11. All applicable fees charged by OSBI are the
responsibility of the applicant and shall not be higher than fees
charged to any other person or industry for such background checks;
11. 12. In order to be considered an Oklahoma resident for
purposes of a medical marijuana business application, all applicant s
shall provide proof of Oklahoma residency for at least two (2) years
immediately preceding the date of application or five (5) years of
continuous Oklahoma residency during the preceding twent y-five (25)
years immediately preceding the date of applicatio n. Sufficient
documentation of proof of residency shall include a combination of
the following:
a. an unexpired Oklahoma -issued driver license,
b. an Oklahoma voter identification card,
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c. a utility bill preceding the date of application,
excluding cellular telephone and Internet bills,
d. a residential property deed to property in this state,
and
e. a rental agreement preceding the date of application
for residential property located in this state.
Applicants that were issued a medical mari juana business license
prior to the enactment of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient
Protection Act are hereby exempt from the two-year or five-year
Oklahoma residence requirement m entioned above;
12. 13. All license applicants shall be required to su bmit a
registration with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs Control as provided in Sections 2 -302 through 2-304
of this title;
13. 14. All applicants shall establish their identity through
submission of a color copy or digital image of one of the following
unexpired documents:
a. front and back of an Oklahoma driver license,
b. front and back of an Oklahoma identification card,
c. a United States passport or other photo identifica tion
issued by the United States government,
d. certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate
for minor applicants who do not possess a document
listed in this section, or
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e. a tribal identificati on card approved for
identification purposes by the Oklahoma Department of
Public Safety; and
14. 15. All applicants shall submit an applicant photograph.
F. The Authority shall review the medical marijuana business
application, approve or reject the app lication and mail the
approval, rejection or status -update letter to the applicant within
ninety (90) business days of receipt of the application.
G. 1. The Authority shall review the medical marijuana
business applications and conduct all investigations , inspections
and interviews before approving the app lication.
2. Approved applicants shall be issued a medical mariju ana
business license for the specific category applied under which shall
act as proof of their approved status. Rejection letters shall
provide a reason for the rejection. Applications ma y only be
rejected based on the applicant not meeting the standards set forth
in the provisions of this section, improper completion of the
application or for a reason provided for in the Oklahoma Medical
Marijuana and Patient Protection Act . If an application is rejected
for failure to provide required information, the applicant shall
have thirty (30) days to submit the required information for
reconsideration. No additional application fee shall be charged for
such reconsideration.
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3. Status-update letters shall provide a reason for delay in
either approval or rejecti on should a situation arise in which an
application was submitted properly, but a delay in processing the
application occurred.
4. Approval, rejection or status -update letters shall be s ent
to the applicant in the s ame method the application was submitted to
the Authority.
H. A medical marijuana business license shall not be issued to
or held by:
1. A person until a ll required fees have been paid;
2. A person who has been convicte d of a nonviolent felony
within two (2) years of the date of application, or within five (5)
years for any other felony;
3. A corporation, if the criminal history of any of its
officers, directors or stockholde rs indicates that the officer,
director or stockholder has been convicted of a nonviolent felony
within two (2) years o f the date of application, or within five (5)
years for any other felony;
4. A person under twenty-five (25) years of age;
5. A person licensed pursuant to this section who, dur ing a
period of licensure, or who, at the time of application, has failed
to:
a. file taxes, interest or penalties due related to a
medical marijuana business, or
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b. pay taxes, interest or penalties due related to a
medical marijuana business;
6. A sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer or prosecuting
officer, or an officer or em ployee of the Authority or municipality;
or
7. A person whose authority to be a caregiver as defined in the
Oklahoma Medical Marijuana a nd Patient Protection Act has been
revoked by the Authority.
I. In investigating the qualifications of an applicant or a
licensee, the Authority and municipalities may have access to
criminal history record information furnished by a criminal justice
agency subject to any restrictions imposed by such an agency. In
the event the Authority considers the criminal history re cord of the
applicant, the Authority shall also consider any information
provided by the applicant regarding such crimin al history record
including but not limited to evidence of rehabilitation, character
references and educational achievements, especially those items
pertaining to the period of time between the last criminal
conviction of the applicant and the considerati on of the application
for a state license.
J. The failure of an applicant to provide the request ed
information by the Authority deadline may be grounds for denial of
the application.
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K. All applicants shall submit information to the Authority in
a full, faithful, truthful and fair manner. The Authority may
recommend denial of an application where t he applicant made
misstatements, omissions, misrepresentations or untruths in the
application or in connection with the background investigation of
the applicant. This type of conduct may be considered as the ba sis
for additional administrative action aga inst the applicant. Typos
and scrivener errors shall not be grounds for denial.
L. A licensed medical marijuana business premises shall be
subject to and responsible for compl iance with applicable provisions
for medical marijuana business facilities as d escribed in the most
recent versions of the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code, the
International Building Code and the International Fire Code, unless
granted an exemption by the A uthority or municipality.
M. All medical marijuana business licensees shall pa y the
relevant licensure f ees prior to receiving licensure to operate a
medical marijuana business, as defined in the Oklahoma Medical
Marijuana and Patient Protection Act for each class of license.
N. An original medical marijuana business license issued on or
after June 26, 2018, by the Autho rity, for a medical marijuana
commercial grower, a medical marijuana processor or a medical
marijuana dispensary shall be deemed to have been grandfathered into
the location on the date the original license was first issued for
purposes of determining the authority of the business to conduct and
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continue the same type of business at that location under a license
issued by the Authority, exc ept as may be provided in Sectio ns 425
and 426.1 of this title. Any change in ownership after the original
medical marijuana business license has been issued by the Authority
shall be construed by the Authority to be a continuation of the same
type of business originally licensed at tha t location. Nothing
shall authorize the Author ity to deny issuance or renewal of a
license or transfer of license due to a change in ownership for the
same business location previously licensed, except when a revocation
is otherwise authorized by law or a protest is made under the
municipal compliance provisions of Section 426.1 of this tit le.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 427.25 of Title 63, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. It shall be unlawful for any holder of a medical marijuana
business license pursuant to Section 427.14 of Titl e 63 of the
Oklahoma Statutes to engage in any commercial growing operations in
this state without acquiring a bond. The bond shall cover that area
of land within the permit area upon whic h the business licensee will
initiate and conduct commercial growing operations.
B. Every applicant for a commercial grower license or
commercial grower licensee shall file with the Oklahoma Medical
Marijuana Authority a bond satisfactory to the Authority and in the
amount no less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for
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each license sought or held, with a surety company qualifie d to do
business in this state as surety. The bond shall be furnished t o
the state for the use o f the state pursuant to the provisions of
this act. The bond shall be conditional that t he obligor will
comply with the provisions of this act and all rules and regulations
made pursuant to this act and will pay all amounts of mone y that may
be due to the state during the time such bond is in effect.
C. The Authority may require a higher amount depending upon the
reclamation requirements of the approved application. The amount
shall reflect the probable difficulty of reclamation with
consideration for such factors including, but not limited to,
topography, hydrology, and revegetation potential. The amount of
the bond for a commercial growing operation shall be sufficient to
assure the completion of the reclamation plan if the work ha s to be
performed by the Authority in the event of revocation of license.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the pr eservation
of the public peace, healt h or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
58-2-11384 JL 04/14/22