(1) A license provided by this article 10 shall not be issued to or held by:
A person until the fee therefore has been paid;
An individual whose criminal history indicates that he or she is not of good moralcharacter after considering the factors in section 24-5-101 (2);
A person other than an individual if the criminal history of any of its controllingbeneficial owners indicates that a controlling beneficial owner is not of good moral character after considering the factors in section 24-5-101 (2);
A person under twenty-one years of age;
A person licensed pursuant to this article 10 who, during a period of licensure, orwho, at the time of application, has failed to:
File any tax return with a taxing agency related to a medical marijuana business orretail marijuana business;
Pay any taxes, interest, or penalties due as determined by final agency action relatedto a medical marijuana business or retail marijuana business;
A person who fails to meet qualifications for licensure that directly and demonstrablyrelate to the operation of a medical marijuana business;
(I) A person who was convicted of a felony in the three years immediately precedinghis or her application date or who is currently subject to a sentence for a felony conviction; except that, for a person applying to be a social equity licensee, a marijuana conviction shall not be the sole basis for license denial; or
(II) A person who is currently subject to a deferred judgment or sentence for a felony;
A person who employs another person at a medical marijuana business or retail marijuana business who has not submitted fingerprints for a criminal history record check or whose criminal history record check reveals that the person is ineligible;
A sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, or prosecuting officer, or an officer or employee of the state licensing authority or a local licensing authority;
A person applying for a license for a location that is currently licensed as a retail foodestablishment;
A publicly traded entity that does not constitute a publicly traded corporation as defined in this article 10;
A person that is or has a controlling beneficial owner, passive beneficial owner, orindirect financial interest holder that is organized or formed under the laws of a country determined by the United States secretary of state to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism or is included among the list of "covered countries" in section 1502 of the federal "Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act", Pub.L. 111-203;
A person that is or has a controlling beneficial owner that is an "ineligible issuer"pursuant to section 44-10-103 (50)(d)(I);
A person that is or has a controlling beneficial owner that is disqualified as a "badactor" under rule 506 (d) promulgated pursuant to the federal "Securities Act of 1933", as amended, and subject to 17 CFR 230.506 (d)(1);
A person that is not a publicly traded corporation that is or has a passive beneficialowner or indirect financial interest holder that is disqualified as a "bad actor" under rule 506 (d) promulgated pursuant to the federal "Securities Act of 1933", as amended, and subject to 17 CFR 230.506 (d)(1);
A person that is a publicly traded corporation that is or has a nonobjecting passivebeneficial owner or indirect financial interest holder that is disqualified as a "bad actor" under rule 506 (d) promulgated pursuant to the federal "Securities Act of 1933", as amended, and subject to 17 CFR 230.506 (d)(1); or
A person that is or has a controlling beneficial owner, passive beneficial owner, orindirect financial interest holder that is prohibited from engaging in transactions pursuant to this article 10 due to its designation on the "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" list maintained by the federal office of foreign assets control.
The state licensing authority may deny or revoke a license if the applicant or licensee's criminal character or criminal record poses a threat to the regulation or control of marijuana.
A medical marijuana license provided by this article 10 shall not be issued to or heldby:
A licensed physician making patient recommendations; or
A person whose authority to be a primary caregiver as defined in section 25-1.5-106 (2) has been revoked by the state health agency.
(4) (a) In investigating the qualifications of an applicant or a licensee, the state and local licensing authorities may have access to criminal history record information furnished by a criminal justice agency subject to any restrictions imposed by such agency. In the event the state or local licensing authority considers the applicant's criminal history record, the state or local licensing authority shall also consider any information provided by the applicant regarding such criminal history record, including but not limited to evidence of rehabilitation, character references, and educational achievements, especially those items pertaining to the period of time between the applicant's last criminal conviction and the consideration of the application for a state license.
As used in subsection (4)(a) of this section, "criminal justice agency" means anyfederal, state, or municipal court or any governmental agency or subunit of such agency that administers criminal justice pursuant to a statute or executive order and that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice.
At the time of filing an application for issuance or renewal of a state medical marijuana business license or retail marijuana business license, an applicant shall submit a set of his or her fingerprints and file personal history information concerning the applicant's qualifications for a state license on forms prepared by the state licensing authority. The state or local licensing authority or local jurisdiction shall submit the fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation for the purpose of conducting fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall forward the fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of conducting fingerprint-based criminal history record checks. The state or local licensing authority or local jurisdiction may acquire a name-based criminal history record check for an applicant or a license holder who has twice submitted to a fingerprint-based criminal history record check and whose fingerprints are unclassifiable. An applicant who has previously submitted fingerprints for state or local licensing purposes may request that the fingerprints on file be used. The state or local licensing authority or local jurisdiction shall use the information resulting from the fingerprint-based criminal history record check to investigate and determine whether an applicant is qualified to hold a state or local license pursuant to this article 10. The state or local licensing authority or local jurisdiction may verify any of the information an applicant is required to submit.
Source: L. 2019: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 19-224), ch. 315, p. 2862, § 5, effective January 1, 2020. L. 2020: (1)(g)(I) amended, (HB 20-1424), ch. 184, p. 844, § 4, effective September 14.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former §§ 44-11-306 and 44-12-305 as they existed prior to 2020.