CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WENY) -- On Tuesday night, the Chemung County Legislature voted unanimously to introduce a local law that aims to crackdown on unlicensed cannabis sales in the county.
In April, Governor Kathy Hochul gave local authorities the ability to enforce state cannabis laws. The legislature voted to introduce this policy for consideration.
If adopted, this local law would give county officials the power to inspect and shutdown non-compliant businesses. That includes the Sheriff's Office, the health department, and code enforcement.
The county would also be able to levy fines of anywhere from $100 to $10,000 per day, with a maximum of $25,000, to businesses who are shut down, then do not comply with the law.
The resolution was introduced through the Multiservices Committee. The chair of that committee, Michael Smith, said this aims to enforce the laws that New York State already has in place.
"They've put in place mechanisms for people to get licensed facilities, and have completely ignored all of this unlicensed activity that's going on," said Michael Smith, who represents the 14th District of the Chemung County Legislature. "So there's no tax being generated from it, and if we're going to have these sales, then we need to generate the sales tax, and they need to be done in accordance with state law. So this, I hope, will have some impact on stopping the pop-up shops that we seem to see."
Next steps are to hold a public hearing, and there's no date set for that yet. From there, the law will go under consideration, and then to another vote. If approved, the policy will apply to all of Chemung County, unless the City of Elmira opts out. Under state law, cities can enforce the policies on their own if they choose.
Find the full resolution below.