1. (1) Each licensed grower, processor, handler, university representative or applicant shall undergo and pay for an annual criminal background check.
2. (2) A licensed grower, processor, handler or applicant shall, following completion of the background check, ensure delivery of the report to the department according to application instructions.
3. (3) The department shall not accept a report from a criminal background check that is dated more than 60 days prior to the application submission date.
4. (4) Failure to submit the background check by the deadline stated in subsection (2) of this section shall be grounds for license denial.
5. (5) Substitution of a signing authority shall require approval from the department and the submission of a current criminal background check on the signing authority.
6. (6) A license shall not be issued unless the criminal background check submitted with the license application confirms that all key participants to be covered by the license have not been convicted of a felony, under State or Federal law, relating to a controlled substance with the past ten (10) years; provided however, that an exception applies to a person who was lawfully growing Hemp under the 2014 Farm Bill before December 20, 2018, and whose conviction also occurred before that date. If the licensee is an entity, all Key Participants of the entity are subject to this requirement.

Author: N. Gunter Guy, Jr.

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala.1975, §2-8-383.

History: New Rule: Published August 31, 2020; effective October 15, 2020; operative November 1, 2020. Amended: Published November 30, 2021; effective January 14, 2022. Amended: Published May 31, 2022; effective July 15, 2022.