(a) In order for a dispensary facility to convert its license to a hybrid-retailer license, a dispensary facility shall have a workforce development plan that has been approved by the Social Equity Council under section 21a-420d and shall either pay the fee of one million dollars established in section 21a-420e or, if such dispensary facility has committed to create one equity joint venture to be approved by the Social Equity Council for ownership purposes under section 21a-420d and subsequent to obtaining such approval, approved by the department for licensure under this section, pay a reduced fee of five hundred thousand dollars.

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(b) Any equity joint venture created under this section shall be created for the development of a cannabis establishment, other than a cultivator, provided such equity joint venture is at least fifty per cent owned and controlled by an individual or individuals who meet, or the equity joint venture applicant is an individual who meets, the criteria established in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (50) of section 21a-420.

(c) An equity joint venture applicant shall submit an application to the Social Equity Council that may include, but need not be limited to, evidence of business formation, ownership allocation, terms of ownership and financing and proof of social equity status. The equity joint venture applicant shall submit to the Social Equity Council information including, but not limited to, the organizing documents of the entity that outline the ownership stake of each backer, initial backer investment and payout information to enable the council to determine the terms of ownership.

(d) Upon receipt of written approval of the equity joint venture by the Social Equity Council, the equity joint venture applicant shall apply for a license from the department in the same form as required by all other licensees of the same license type and subject to the same fees as required by all other licensees of the same license type, except that such application shall not be subject to the lottery process.

(e) A dispensary facility, including the backers of such dispensary facility, shall not increase its ownership in an equity joint venture in excess of fifty per cent during the seven-year period after a license is issued by the department under this section.

(f) Equity joint ventures that are retailers or hybrid retailers that share a common dispensary facility backer or owner, or hybrid retailer backer or owner, shall not be located within twenty miles of each other.

(g) If a dispensary facility has paid the reduced conversion fee, in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, and did not subsequently create one equity joint venture under this section that, not later than fourteen months after the Department of Consumer Protection approved the dispensary facility’s license conversion application under section 21a-420t, receives a final license from the department, the dispensary facility shall be liable for the full conversion fee of one million dollars established in section 21a-420e minus such paid reduced conversion fee.

(h) No dispensary facility that receives approval to convert the dispensary facility’s license to a hybrid-retailer license under section 21a-420t shall create more than two equity joint ventures. No such dispensary facility shall apply for, or create, any additional equity joint venture if, on July 1, 2021, such dispensary facility has created at least two equity joint ventures that have each received a provisional license.

(i) An equity joint venture applicant shall pay fifty per cent of the amount of any applicable fee specified in subsection (c) of section 21a-420e for the first three renewal cycles of the applicable cannabis establishment license applied for, and shall pay the full amount of such fee thereafter.