New York S 8278: Imposes limits on where licensed adult use dispensing facilities may be located and waivers from such proximity protection

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S08278 Summary:

BILL NOS08278 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A08741

&nbsp

SPONSORCOONEY

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §85, Cannabis L

&nbsp

Provides that licensed adult use dispensing facilities shall be no less than 1,000 feet apart in municipalities with a population of 20,000 people or more, and no less than 2,000 feet apart in municipalities with a population of less than 20,000 people; provides proximity protection waivers.

Go to top S08278 Actions:

BILL NOS08278 

&nbsp

05/29/2025REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

01/07/2026REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

Go to topS08278 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS08278 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS08278 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 8278

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 May 29, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
 ment Operations

 AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to proximity protection
 and where licensed adult use dispensing facilities may be located

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Subdivision 12 of section 85 of the cannabis law is amended
 2 and three new subdivisions 13, 14 and 15 are added to read as follows:
 3 12. The board is authorized, to promulgate regulations governing
 4 licensed adult-use dispensing facilities, including but not limited to,
 5 the hours of operation, size [and location] of the licensed facility,
 6 types and concentration of product servings offered and establishing a
 7 minimum and maximum margin for retail dispensary markups of cannabis
 8 product or products before selling to a cannabis consumer. It shall be
 9 unlawful for any retail dispensary to sell any adult-use cannabis prod-
 10 uct for less than the minimum markup allowed in regulation.
 11 13. Licensed adult use dispensing facilities shall be no less than one
 12 thousand feet apart in municipalities with a population of twenty thou-
 13 sand people or more, and no less than two thousand feet apart in munici-
 14 palities with a population of less than twenty thousand people.
 15 14. Waivers from proximity protection as provided in subdivision thir-
 16 teen of this section may be considered by the cannabis control board. In
 17 making such decisions, the cannabis control board shall:
 18 (a) have a presumption against providing a proximity protection waiver
 19 unless quantitative facts warrant it;
 20 (b) issue notices of a request to seek a proximity protection waiver
 21 to the owner of the dispensary whose proximity protection is to be
 22 waived and to appropriate officials in any municipality or community
 23 board subject to the request within seven days of the filing of such a
 24 request;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD13036-01-5

 S. 8278 2

 1 (c) conduct and publicly issue a quantitative analysis at least thirty
 2 days prior to board action of the cannabis dispensary whose proximity
 3 will be waived, including the profitability and financial stability of
 4 such dispensary and any other quantifiable factors that reflect the
 5 ability of the dispensary to profitably function with added market
 6 competition. Such analysis shall represent the basis for making a prox-
 7 imity protection waiver decision;
 8 (d) within forty-five days, consult with and get an official written
 9 opinion from the relevant municipality or community board concerning
 10 their support or opposition to a local proximity protection waiver;
 11 (e) within forty-five days provide an opportunity for the cannabis
 12 dispensary licensee whose proximity protection could be waived with the
 13 opportunity to submit written comments to the cannabis control board
 14 prior to action being taken on the waiver;
 15 (f) hold a public hearing on the proposed waiver, at which the current
 16 licensee, the waiver applicant, any relevant municipality or community
 17 board, and the public shall be heard;
 18 (g) provide the cannabis dispensary licensee