House Bill 112 (HB 112) provides for state and national criminal history checks as a condition of eligibility for cannabis activity licensure, requires that an application for such licensure be signed by the applicant, and adds definitions to the Cannabis Regulation Act. 

 House Bill 112 (HB 112) amends Section 26-2C-2 NMSA 1978, adding new definitions as follows:

•	An “applicant” is a person seeking licensure; and
•	A "licensee" means a person that is licensed pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act

Section 26-2C-3 NMSA 1978 is amended to stipulate that the Cannabis Control Division (CCD) is to receive and maintain information and data from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) relating to licensing disqualifications based on criminal history.

Section 26-2C-3.1 NMSA 1978 is amended to add requirements that:

•	The CCD must have access to criminal history records information furnished by the Department of Public Safety and the FBI, subject to any restrictions imposed by federal law. If the CCD considers an applicant's criminal history record, they must also consider information provided by the applicant about the criminal history record, including evidence of rehabilitation, character references and educational achievements.

•	An applicant for a license to conduct commercial cannabis activity must undergo a state and federal criminal history records check, and the applicant must submit an electronic set of fingerprints to the DPS for that purpose. The DPS must conduct a check of state records and forward the fingerprints to the FBI for a national criminal history records check to determine if there is any record of convictions and arrests in this state or other law enforcement jurisdictions. The DPS may acquire a name-based criminal history records check for an applicant or a licensee who has twice submitted to a fingerprint-based criminal history record check and whose fingerprints are unclassifiable. The DPS must review the information obtained from the criminal history records check and compile and provide that information to the CCD. The CCD must use the information resulting from the criminal history records check to investigate and determine whether an applicant is qualified to hold a cannabis license. 

•	Criminal history information received from the DPS or FBI that is not already a matter of public record shall: (1) be confidential; (2) be restricted to the exclusive use of the CCD for evaluating an applicant's eligibility or disqualification for licensure; (3) not be considered a public record pursuant to the Public Records Act; and (4) not be disclosed to anyone other than public employees directly involved in the decision affecting the applicant.

A previous segment of Section 26-2C-3.1 NMSA 1978 is deleted and replaced with new language regarding criminal background check requirements and procedures.

Section 26-2C-7 NMSA 1978 is amended and updated stylistically, and includes new language requiring that an application for licensure must be signed by the applicant or, if the applicant is a corporation or other legal entity, signed by an officer or other person with legal authority to sign documents for the corporation or other legal entity.
 

 Current law does not include the specificity related to criminal background checks, nor the new definitions, nor the requirement that cannabis activity license applications be signed by the applicant. 

 Committee Substitute February 21, 2025 in HCEDC

HCEDCcs/HB 112: The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee substitute for House Bill 112 makes the following changes:

“applicant” is redefined as an applicant seeking licensure pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation Act;

“cannabis” is redefined as “[meaning] all parts of the plant genus cannabis containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than three-tenths percent on a dry-weight basis, whether growing or not; the seeds of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or its resin;

“controlling person” is redefined as a human person that controls a financial or voting interest of ten percent or more of, or an officer or board member of, an applicant or a cannabis establishment;

In the Criminal History Background Checks section, the definitions of “director,” “member and manager,” “officer,” and “partner” are deleted. A statement is added: “All controlling persons of an applicant for a license to conduct commercial cannabis activity shall undergo a state and federal criminal history records check…” and

In the section on Cannabis Activity Licensing, a statement is revised to say: “In carrying out its commercial cannabis activity, the division shall require as a condition of licensing for any type of cannabis producer or cannabis producer microbusiness that the applicant has a legal right to a commercial water supply…”