(a) Safety compliance facilities may only operate if they have been issued a valid registration certificate from the Department. When applying for a safety compliance facility registration certificate, the applicant shall submit the following in accordance with Department regulations:
(1) A nonrefundable application fee in an amount determined by the Department's regulations;
(2) The proposed legal name of the safety compliance facility;
(3) The proposed physical address of the safety compliance facility;
(4) The name, address, and date of birth of each principal officer and board member of the safety compliance facility, provided that all such individuals shall be at least 21 years of age;
(5) Any instances in which a business or not-for-profit that any of the prospective board members managed or served on the board of was convicted, fined, censured, or had a registration or license suspended or revoked in any administrative or judicial proceeding; and
(6) Any information required by the Department to evaluate the applicant pursuant to the competitive bidding process described in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The Department shall evaluate applications for safety compliance facility registration certificates using an impartial and numerically scored competitive bidding process developed by the Department in accordance with this chapter. The registration considerations shall consist of the following criteria:
(1) The proposed principal officers' and board members' relevant experience, including any training or professional licensing related to analytical testing, medicine, pharmaceuticals, natural treatments, botany, or marijuana cultivation, preparation, and testing and their experience running businesses or not-for-profits;
(2) The suitability of the proposed location, including compliance with any local zoning laws and the geographic convenience to compassion centers from throughout the State of Delaware to registered safety compliance facilities if the applicant were approved;
(3) The sufficiency of the applicant's plans for safety, security, and the prevention of diversion, including proposed locations and security devices employed; and
(4) The proposed safety compliance facility's plan for operations and services, including its staffing and training plans, and whether it has sufficient capital to operate.
(c) The Department shall issue at least 1 safety compliance facility registration certificate to the highest scoring applicant by January 1, 2013, if the revenue received from the fees generated by this chapter and donations covers the cost of implementing the program established by this chapter.
(d) (1) The Department may issue additional safety compliance facility registration certificates to the highest scoring applicant or applicants. If the Department determines, after reviewing the report issued pursuant to § 4922A of this title, that additional safety compliance facilities are needed to meet the needs of cardholders and registered compassion centers throughout the State, the Department shall issue registration certificates to the corresponding number of applicants who score the highest.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (c) and paragraph (d)(1) of this section, an application for a safety compliance facility registration certificate must be denied if any of the following conditions are met:
a. The applicant failed to submit the materials required by this section, including if the plans do not satisfy the security, oversight, or recordkeeping regulations issued by the Department;
b. The applicant would not be in compliance with local zoning regulations issued in accordance with § 4917A of this title;
c. The applicant does not meet the requirements of § 4919A of this title;
d. One or more of the prospective principal officers or board members has been convicted of an excluded felony offense or has been convicted of a misdemeanor drug offense, as provided in Title 16 or an equivalent offense from another jurisdiction, within 5 years from the date of application that is not excluded by § 4902A(8)b.2. of this title;
e. One or more of the prospective principal officers or board members has served as a principal officer or board member for a registered safety compliance facility or registered compassion center that has had its registration certificate revoked; and
f. One or more of the principal officers or board members is younger than 21 years of age.
(e) Before a safety compliance facility is approved, it shall submit a registration fee paid to the Department in the amount determined by Department regulation and, if a physical address had not been finalized when it applied, its physical address.
(f) When issuing a safety compliance facility registration certificate, the Department shall also issue a renewable registration certificate with an identification number. The Department shall also provide the registered safety compliance facility with the contact information for the verification system.