(a) For Social Equity Applicants, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture shall waive 50% of any nonrefundable license application fees, any nonrefundable fees associated with purchasing a license to operate a cannabis business establishment, and any surety bond or other financial requirements, provided a Social Equity Applicant meets the following qualifications at the time the payment is due:
- (1) the applicant, including all individuals and entities with 10% or greater ownership and all parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, has less than a total of $750,000 of income in the previous calendar year; and
- (2) the applicant, including all individuals and entities with 10% or greater ownership and all parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, has no more than 2 other licenses for cannabis business establishments in the State of Illinois.
- (b) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture may require Social Equity Applicants to attest that they meet the requirements for a fee waiver as provided in subsection (a) and to provide evidence of annual total income in the previous calendar year.
- (c) If the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or the Department of Agriculture determines that an applicant who applied as a Social Equity Applicant is not eligible for such status, the applicant shall be provided an additional 10 days to provide alternative evidence that he or she qualifies as a Social Equity Applicant. Alternatively, the applicant may pay the remainder of the waived fee and be considered as a non-Social Equity Applicant. If the applicant cannot do either, then the Departments may keep the initial application fee and the application shall not be graded.
(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)