 My name is James Pepper. I'm the chair of the Vermont Cannabis Control Board. Today is April 25th, 2022. It's 11 a.m. and I call this meeting to order. Just a few administrative updates first around licensing. I guess the kind of thing that I'd like to announce is that we are open for all cultivation tiers. So it's slightly ahead of schedule, but we all recognize how important it is to get these plants in the ground. So if you've been waiting for any cultivation tier to open other than tier six, which we decided not to open, all other tiers, tiers one through five are now open and you can go to our website and apply for any of those cultivation tiers. Also, just to clear up a little confusion that we've been getting at the board, you know, just because a licensing window opens, it doesn't mean that another one closes. You know, as of right now, we have no intention of closing any of the application windows that we've opened. We did vote a few meetings ago to close the pre-qualification window on May 31st. That was a decision that we made because one, it seemed like interest was tapering off a little bit. We also had kind of significant or sufficient uptake in each of the licensing categories. And because the board really needs to turn its full attention towards licensing, you know, operational licenses. But, you know, if we do decide to close a licensing window, which we do have the authority to do, we will do so pursuant to a board vote. It will be in an open meeting and we'll give the industry at least 30 days notice before we actually close the window. With respect to licensing numbers, as of today, we've received a total of 83 fully submitted applications. We are reviewing these applications in the order that they are submitted, with the one exception that social equity applicants get priority review. Bryn will talk a little bit later on about kind of the review process as we start to kind of turn our attention to those. When it comes to reviewing them, you know, we're doing this as quickly as humanly possible. Recognizing that our kind of staff here is stretched very thin. Of course, there's only so many hours in the day and only so many people here that can do the work. The good news is, is that we've had the positions that we were granted in the Budget Adjustment Act have been posted. And we will hire those positions as quickly as possible. So if you'd like to come work for the cannabis board, those links to apply are available through our website. There's also a lot of good information about what the jobs are, what the qualifications for them are. So before you kind of reach out to us and ask about them, please, you know, just look at the website, look at the post things, look at the qualifications and what the jobs are. There's a lot of good information about those on our website already. So the bad news is that given where these applications are in the review process, I have a very hard time believing we're going to be issuing any operational licenses on May 1st, which is this weekend. Of course, getting these cultivator licenses out is our number one priority at the board. We're all pitching in to make sure that that happens, but we literally do not have a licensing team in place yet. However, I would say that once these folks are hired, I fully expect that the pace of us issuing licenses will pick up significantly. Just a quick reminder on criminal history records. I mentioned this a few times, but now the board is officially, we received a letter from the FBI denying our request, our authorization to receive 50 state fingerprint supported background checks, despite the fact that we applied for this a year ago. And, you know, this situation is not unique to Vermont. It's actually been happening all across the country and all the new kind of adult youth states that are coming online. So we are working on this issue on a number of fronts. We're seeking legislative changes. We have kind of a plan B in place. That plan B, which is what we're operating under currently, is you do not need to get fingerprinted for your operating license. In the application process, you're going to be asked to share with the board all the places you and your principals and your financiers have lived or done business in the past seven years. And then the board is going to at the appropriate time direct you to a third party company. Its name is CSI. It specializes in conducting professional background screenings. And they will do that in the states that you've attested living in or doing business in. This process I've mentioned a few times is not ideal. It's a lot less efficient than a fingerprint supported background check. And there's an additional cost to the licensee. But it's the kind of default position that we're in right now until anything changes. So the board again will direct you to CSI to do this background check when your application is deemed ready by the board. So keep an eye out for that. Tax Compliance. So the tax department very recently published a incredibly helpful, incredibly thorough guidance document. It's kind of a step-by-step guidance on how to kind of come into compliance if you're a cannabis business with the tax department. I'm not going to walk through it all here. We do link to it on our website. You can go directly to that kind of guidance page at ccb.vermont.gov slash guidance and look for that kind of link to the tax department. Finally, inventory tracking. So just from a broad sense, there's really only three companies that have the contract to do inventory tracking in almost every adult medical use state. And really there's primarily just one. You know, the board recognizes how important inventory tracking is. It protects the industry from kind of federal enforcement. It protects license cultivators from illegal inversion. It also helps the board prioritize our very limited compliance resources. But that being said, all of those three companies have major downsides. And the last thing the board wants to do is enter into a long-term contract with one of these companies, force the industry to deal with the system that is costly and potentially inefficient. And then possibly, like we've seen in other states, have to change contracts midstream. You know, Washington State is a classic example of this. They entered into a long-term contract with one of these companies. After a few years, they had to change to another company, and then they ultimately had to change again. And every time, it caused major disruptions to the supply chain and to the market. We are trying to avoid some of those mistakes. We're trying to learn the lessons that have been kind of demonstrated in other states. We're still working out a few issues internally. But we will have inventory tracking. It won't look like most of the rest of the adult use states. It will not be overly burdensome to use. And we can roll it out very quickly in the next couple of weeks. So other than that, if you have questions, you can continue to contact the board. The best thing to do really is to look at our guidance documents, read our rules, because everything should be in there. And if you don't see what you're looking for in our rules or in our guidance, you can always email the board at ccb.info at vermont.gov. We have a telephone number too. It's 802-828-1010. And it's option zero for the adult use program. And if you leave a message there, we'll try our best to get back to you in a timely fashion. And other than that, Julian and Kyle, have you had a chance to look at the minutes from April 18th? Yep. All right. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. Seconded? All in favor? Aye. Okay. So moving to the agenda, first item up is to review the staff recommendations for pre-qualification applications. So we have today 30 pre-qualification applications that are up for the board to review. So this kind of synopsis is going to look a little bit different than it's looked in weeks past. But this we're breaking down for pre-qualification application into these four categories. And we're providing the statuses based on these five license types. So we're not breaking down cultivators into the separate tiers or manufacturers into the separate tiers, but kind of just lumping these together for pre-qualification applications. And after I go through the pre-qualification applications that are up for your review, we'll look at the numbers that we have for the full license applications also. So you'll see that we have 30 recommended cultivator pre-qualification applications up for review today. You've already approved 49 and we have a total of 502 pre-qualification applications in the door. So I'm going to move on to our staff recommendations and I will go through them one by one. So these are all applicants based on submission number that have demonstrated compliance with the rule and also they've demonstrated suitability for pre-qualification and therefore staff is putting them forward as recommended for pre-qualification. So we have submission number 33, which is a tier one mixed cultivator, submission number 270, which is a tier one mixed cultivator, submission 161, which is a tier one outdoor cultivator, submission 70, which is a tier one mixed cultivator, submission number 111, tier one outdoor, submission number 219, tier one indoor, submission number 377, tier one outdoor, submission number 275, mixed tier one, submission number 5, Outdoor Tier 5, Submission Number 1, Indoor Tier 2, Submission Number 272, Tier 1 Indoor, Submission 233, Tier 1 Indoor, Submission 384, Tier 2 Outdoor, Submission 20, Tier 5 Mixed, Submission Number 216 Tier 2, Mixed, Submission Number 235 Tier 3 Indoor, Submission Number 178, Tier 2 Outdoor, Submission Number 201, Tier 3 Outdoor, Submission Number 165, Tier 4 Mixed, Submission number 208, Tier 4 Outdoor, Outdoor, Submission 336, Tier 1 Outdoor, Submission 4, Tier 3 Mixed, Submission number 141, Tier 4 Outdoor, Submission number 254, Tier 1 Outdoor, Submission number 163, Tier 1 Outdoor, Submission number 372, Tier 1 Outdoor, Submission number 197, Tier 1 Outdoor, Submission number 175, Tier 2 Outdoor, Submission number 318, Tier 2 Mixed, and Submission number 327, Tier 1 Outdoor. So a reminder that our staff has prioritized for pre-qualification all of the cultivate that they started by prioritizing the Tier 1 cultivators, they've now opened up their review to all cultivators, they're still prioritizing cultivators for pre-qualification. And as time goes on, we're going to open it up and review everybody. And to be clear, they've prioritized testing labs and cultivators for their review. And they will open that up and start reviewing all license types in the coming days. So before you vote on those, I can show you the full license application numbers as of last Friday. We have, again, we have four different application statuses for the different license applications. We have the submitted status and we have 50 Tier 1 and 2 Outdoor and Mixed cultivator applications in this status and 31 Tier 1 and 2 Indoor cultivator applications in this status. And what submitted means is that the applicant has submitted their original application electronically through our online portal or the physical application has been received by staff. The next status type is under review. So you can see we have two of these Tier 1 and 2 Outdoor and Mixed cultivator applications under review. That status means that staff have begun to review the application and applicants in that status are going to be invited to complete their criminal history check with CSI. So they will get, applicants will get an email from the board with a link to the portal for that background check. Incomplete status, we don't have anyone in this status yet. This means that staff has reviewed the full application and determined it to be incomplete and applicant will receive a letter that details what the deficiencies are that make it incomplete and also details the instructions for the applicant to complete their application. And then the last status for this week is pending board review and that means that staff has made a recommendation to the board on the application and the application is just awaiting the board's final decision. So more numbers will appear in this chart as time goes on and there will be additional statuses as time goes on as well. But for this sort of initial phase, we've got these four and we'll start to see these charts more populated quite soon. So I noticed that there's no integrated applications that have been submitted. Right, not yet. No testing. But we did have a kind of special provision with respect to testing. And if you are certified through the agency of agriculture, that's right, you can get waved in to this. So it's possible that there are testing labs that are going through that process and not submitting an application. And we have heard from some that are intending to do that. All right. I have a question. Do we know how many of the folks that submitted to full license applications also did prequalification applications? I don't know if staff has done that on analysis yet, but we can certainly do it for next week. Yeah, and I just want to very quickly say like, look, as you alluded to earlier, May 1st is quickly approaching. We're trying to install as many processes as we can as quickly as we can to get full license applications turned around to those that are applying. We've gotten a lot of messages saying, hey, my plants need to be in the ground ASAP. And we completely understand that. That is not lost on us. I think I've gotten 10 to 20 messages myself with folks trying to cross that home. And we're aware, 100%. I know that we're working in an office in Montpelier, and folks think that we might not be cognizant of that, but we absolutely are. And just another thing, a lot of folks have been doing outreach to our staff. I'd say most of those conversations from my understanding have gone very professional and cordial and well, but there's no room to be rude or use vulgar language to our staff. 100%. That is something that is just not acceptable. So I know that folks are under a lot of stress and anxiety, have a lot of writing on these licenses. We totally get that, but there's just no room to be rude. That's just my perspective. I just want to make sure everybody understands that we're working as hard as they possibly can. We've got more recruits coming. We do have these positions. We put those positions in literally the first bill that we could have. The one that normally is the first bill it gets signed. It was a little bit delayed this year, but we do have more staff on the way. And again, I think just we will have, once we have processes in place, staff to kind of review. I think that these will happen more quickly. But anything else for Brent on this? It looks like roughly 30% of the applicants that have applied. Yes, I missed one last. Have identified themselves. Data for you. Yep. So social equity applications. So this is a breakdown of the status for applicants that have self-identified as social equity applicants. So this is prior to the board's review of social equity status. We've got 23, 25 in total, that have self-identified as social equity applicants for the full license application. And to those are the two that are currently under review for the tier one and two cultivator application. Thank you. Yep. Great. All right. Well, is there a motion to approve the pre-qualification application? I'll move that the board accept each of the recommendations for pre-qualification approval as presented to us by staff here on this meeting on April 25, 2022. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Great. Well, moving through the agenda, next is public comment. And again, we'll do this the way we always have. If you join via the link, we'll start there. Please raise your virtual hands. And we'll do our best to call on you in the order that the hands are raised. Then we'll move to the folks that are on the phone. You know, if you have a public comment, kind of star six down here. Anyone via the link? Evo? Good morning, everyone. And thanks again for all your hard work. Things are moving along here. Something that's been brought to my attention by a couple of different outdoor cultivators that have been asking me and just talking about. Like the fish and wildlife and kind of like the authorities who sometimes just go in with an axe and don't necessarily ask questions and chop down crops like that. Has they been kind of all alerted as to what's going on for this summer's growing seed? I just have to think about a couple of people have said it, especially in smaller rural areas, sometimes the game where it will go in and just start cutting stuff down and maybe not realize that it's a licensed grow operation. And I've just heard some concern about that. So I thought I'd bring it up to the board. Yeah, thanks, Evo. And no worries. Thank you. Anyone else who joined via the link? Dave? Thanks, James. Is there any guidance as to what the cost from CSI will be? Anything you can share with us at this time would be great. Brendan, do you have that? Yep. So the cost per background check is $475. So for each person who's identified as a principal or controller, those individuals will need to get the background check. So it's $475 per principal or control. And sorry to pipe back in, but that's just principles and controllers, not necessarily every financier. That's right. So if the person has been disclosed on the application as being a person with a controlling interest, then they are required to get the background check. So we will provide more information in the link to CSI for the background check about everybody who will need to get checked. Okay. Thank you, Brent. Anyone else who joined via the link? And if you joined via the phone and would like to make a public comment, hit star six and unmute yourself. Yes. I have a question about the background check. Okay. If we went ahead and used another third party because I actually sent an email asking for guidance on that. I used the print scan solution and uploaded the background check. Is that acceptable? So we only have the authority to accept one company, I think. So I would say it's probably okay for the pre-qualification, but it might not be sufficient for the full application. And so the board will be in touch at the appropriate time when your full application has been submitted about how to comply with the statutory requirements around background checks. Okay. No problem. I just didn't get an answer and I didn't want to hold up. So I went and paid for print scans. So that works for pre-qualification. That'd be great. Thank you. Yeah. And we'll be in touch. Can you remind me of your name? Bobby Wagner. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks. I see a hand raised. Now can you all move with the... Yep. That's Ivan. Hi, folks. Yes. So I might understand it because I just hear $475 per principle for background checks now versus what it was supposed to be before. Isn't that... I mean, I'm a social equity applicant with my wife and $1,000 for background checks is kind of defeats the purpose of applying for a social equity type of a systems, doesn't it? Thanks for the comment. Is there anyone else? We'll close the public comment window. Again, not ideal situation. We all recognize that. Had the FBI authorized us, which historically they have done based on the exact language that was in our statute, we wouldn't be in this situation. But at this point, we have to get background checks. It's required federally. It's required by our statute. There are very good reasons to protect this industry that we actually go through this process. And we don't really have the ability as the board to pay for them. So it's just, again, an unfortunate situation and the cost of doing business. So that's the last thing on our agenda. I would remind folks that we do have our kind of after hours public comment window tomorrow. And again, that's just a time for the board to kind of meet people, hear your comments at a time other than kind of during a workday. This is after hours from 6 to 7 p.m. tomorrow. The link should be up on our website in our calendar. And Kyle or Julie, is there anything else you want to mention? No, thank you. All right. Well, in that case, I will adjourn this meeting. Thanks to everyone who joins. Thanks to our staff. And we'll see you tomorrow night.