The governor of New York has rejected key provisions of a bill that sought to create a new Cannabis Wage Board charged with recommending minimum hourly wages for industry workers.
“New York’s cannabis industry is in its infancy, and licensees and employees are adapting to evolving market and legal developments,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a memo about her decision to pursue the chapter amendment process on the legislation, which involves her signing it but only after reaching an agreement with lawmakers to enact changes at the start of the next session.
“The bill as passed would create uncertainty in the industry by imposing a burdensome reporting requirement on applicants and by creating a wage board that could raise costs for licensees and drive consumers to the illicit market.” she wrote.
Hochul’s proposal is to remove portions of the measure that would have created a three-member Cannabis Wage Board—including members of the licensed marijuana industry and the New York State AFL-CIO—that would have been charged with issuing a report to the governor and legislature with recommendations on minimum hourly wages for cannabis industry workers.
The governor wants to maintain provisions of the legislation, however, that would eliminate provisions from current law concerning labor peace agreements that marijuana businesses have been required to enter into with unions representing workers.
Hochul added in her memo that her agreement with lawmakers would also “give the Cannabis Control Board the discretion to prioritize adult-use license application submission, review, selection, and issuance based on an applicant’s voluntary entry into a labor peace agreement.”
“On the basis of this agreement, I am pleased to sign this bill into law,” she said.
Industry groups that had pushed the governor to reject the cannabis worker minimum wage proposal are celebrating the development.
The Empire Cannabis Manufacturers Alliance, Association of New York Cannabis Processors and Cannabis Farmers Alliance praised Hochul for “stopping a wage board that would have driven up prices and imperiled the legal market her administration has spent years establishing,” The Times Union reported.
“Her decision safeguards the farmers who grow cannabis, the processors and manufacturers who turn it into safe, regulated products, and the workers whose livelihoods depend on this growing industry,” the joint statement from the groups said. “Additional labor costs mandated by a wage board would have compounded at every stage of the supply chain, from cultivation and processing to manufacturing and retail, ultimately raising prices for consumers and making it harder to compete with the illicit market.”
Safe and Affordable Cannabis for New York, meanwhile, said the move is “a major victory for the many small businesses and workers who have built this industry.”
Earlier this week, Hochul issued a statement celebrating New York’s crossing the $4 billion mark in legal marijuana sales since the launch of the regulated market.
The legislation, S10643 from Sen. Jessica Ramos (D) and A11562 from Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D), was passed by both chambers of the legislation in June.
The report that the new board would have prepared under the measure “shall include specific recommendations for workers in each of the following areas: cultivation; processing and packaging; distribution; and retail and delivery,” a provisionthat the governor opposes said. “The board shall have the discretion to include specific recommendations for additional classifications of cannabis industry worker, and an industry-wide minimum wage for workers not captured within any specific classification, and shall have the discretion to determine that wages in the industry are adequate.”
Before issuing its report, the board would have been required to hold at least three public hearings and could “consult with cannabis employers, cannabis workers, and their respective representatives, in the occupation or occupations involved, and with such other persons, as it shall determine,” the legislation says.
Another section of the bill as passed by lawmakers would require marijuana business license applicants to provide details on their “full ownership structure” and any management service agreements they are party to, as well as information on compensation and scheduled hours for each paid position.
A justification memo attached to the bill says its provisions are aimed at “helping to ensure workers in the industry are treated fairly.”
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Separately, Hochul recently signed legislation clarifying that marijuana microbusinesses can fully participate in cannabis farmers’ markets and pop-up events.
In May, OCM began accepting applications from licensed dispensaries that want to host temporary cannabis farmers’ markets and pop-up events.
The launch of applications this year followed the enactment of earlier legislation signed by Hochul last year that built on an existing showcase program that was first created in 2023. The state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) adopted regulations for the events program that is now rolling out last May.
In March, the governor marked the five-year anniversary of adult-use marijuana legalization in New York, highlighting $3.3 billion in retail sales at that point, the opening of more than 600 licensed cannabis shops and achievements in promoting social equity in the industry while taking steps to mitigate the illicit market.
In January, New York officials released a set of reports providing a 2025 end-of-year status update on the evolution of the state’s medical and adult-use marijuana markets—touting record sales, revenue hauls for state coffers, licensing approvals, equity initiatives and more.
The OCM annual report also notes that Hochul signed legislation into law that expands the state’s medical cannabis program by improving patient access and “updating the program framework to better meet patient needs statewide.”
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