Parallel bills to provide financial assistance for Social Equity Applicants
Two identical bills, one in the Illinois House and one in the Senate, have been introduced to help financially assist qualified Social Equity Applicants and Social Equity Lottery Licensees. House Bill 5562 and Senate Bill 3785 were introduced late Friday and would amend the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act and provide lending support or private investment from the Cannabis Business Development Fund.
Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. sponsored HB5562, and Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford sponsored SB3785. The two bills have identical wording and would make the same changes to the law. The amendments would “provide financial assistance that supports lending to or private investment in Qualified Social Equity Applicants and Social Equity Lottery Licensees or facilitates access to the facilities needed to commence operations as a cannabis business establishment.”
Another provisions provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may “enter into financial intermediary agreements to facilitate lending to or investment in Qualified Social Equity Applicants or Social Equity Lottery Licensees, or their subsidiaries or affiliates, to ensure the availability of facilities necessary to operate a cannabis business establishment.”
The bills also would add the provision, “To the extent registration with the federal System for Award Management requires a grant applicant to certify compliance with all federal laws, the grant applicants this Section shall not be required to register for a entity identifier through the federal System for Award Management to be qualified to receive a grant so long as law prohibits the cultivation and sale of cannabis. (e) Financial intermediary agreements to provide financial assistance must further the goals set forth in this Act and result in financing or lease costs that are affordable or below market rate.”
The final provision provides, “Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture may share licensee information with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity necessary to support the administration of Social Equity programming.”
For more Illinois cannabis industry news, visit here.
To find cannabis-friendly events in Illinois, visit here.
For Illinois News Joint reviews, visit here.
For Illinois News Joint merchandise and News Joint Printing services, click here.
