Connecticut’s Social Equity Council (SEC) has set household income limits on social equity applicants (SEA) at $235,332 during any one year of the prior three years, representing 300% of the $78,444 figure that the SEC is using as the state median income amount, according to Pullman & Comley’s Matthew Glennon. The rules were announced during the council’s March 2 webinar.
The SEC indicated that the calculation of household income will include all residents of the SEA’s home address that are 21-and-older and that the income threshold will be strictly applied, so even if a household is even one dollar over the limit, the applicant is not eligible as a social equity applicant.
Connecticut regulators approved social equity rules for the industry in January, announcing that the 56 first-round licenses will be evenly split among social equity and general licenses and are available for retailers, micro-cultivators, delivery services, food and beverage businesses, manufacturers, and transporters. Applications for Disproportionately Impacted Area cultivators opened on February 3. Social equity license hopefuls in the state have a one-time 90-day application period that ends on May 4.
The Department of Consumer Protection will then schedule several lotteries for the remaining licenses and expects a second licensing round in the second half of the year. Applicants selected for the social equity licenses are subject to review by the SEC.
In November, workforce and economic development organizations the Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program (ConnCORP) and The WorkPlace announced the creation of the Alliance for Cannabis Equity (ACE), which will focus on social equity and economic opportunities for Black and Brown entrepreneurs and minority workers throughout the state’s cannabis industry.
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