A bill introduced in the New York State Assembly would, if passed, give New York City the legal authority to shut down illegal smoke shops, an authority that currently belongs solely to the state.

The "stop marijuana over-proliferation and keep empty operators of unlicensed transactions (SMOKEOUT) act" was introduced by Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D) on Dec. 29 and referred to the Assembly's Committee on Economic Development. It lacks a sponsor in the Senate.

The bill provides, "Any person who knowingly and unlawfully sells, gives, or causes to be sold or given, IN CONNECTION WITH THE OPERATION OF A BUSINESS OR AT THE BUSINESS LOCATION, any cannabis or cannabis products for which the sale of such products requires a license, permit, or registration under this chapter ... without having obtained a valid license, permit or registration therefor shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. A MUNICIPALITY SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ORDER THE IMMEDIATE CLOSURE OF ANY BUSINESS WHICH IS FOUND TO HAVE VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION AND TO SEIZE ANY MERCHANDISE RELATED TO SUCH UNLAWFUL SALE INCLUDING CANNABIS, CANNABIS RELATED PRODUCTS, TOBACCO, TOBACCO RELATED PRODUCTS AND ANY PROCEEDS RELATING THERETO. ..."

“These unlicensed illegal smoke shops are endangering the children of our community and they are hotbeds of crime,” Rajkumar told the New York Post.

She estimated that there are 1,500 illegal shops in the city and 36,000 statewide.

“My legislation puts the power back in the hands of the people and municipalities, so that we can stop the sale of unlicensed cannabis that is endangering our children and our neighborhoods,” Rajkumar added.

Mayor Eric Adams said last month that the city would be able to get rid of illegal smoke shops if given the proper enforcement power, the Staten Island Advance reported.

“We have to deal with smoke shops, cannabis. We need the enforcement power,” he said. “I will clean up our crisis of cannabis in 30 days if they give me the enforcement power.”

During a Queens town hall in December, Adams said that the city needs the enforcement power, because the state lacks sufficient staff to address the illegal shops, the Advance reported.

The city has attempted to crack down on illegal shops by teaming up with the Manhattan District Attorney to target building owners where shops are located, threatening that they could be liable for the illegal activity on in their properties. Fifty such letters were sent to building owners last month, the Advance reported.

“We’re hoping this year in Albany that we are now going to get the enforcement power,” the mayor said. “We will have full enforcement where I can go to the commanding officer and say, ‘Map all your illegal shops and within 30 days we’re closing them down.’ I need the power to do that. I don’t have the power to do that right now.”

Enforcement against illegal shops is handled by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the New York City Sheriff in the five boroughs.

Michael Gertelman, head of a soon-to-open cannabis delivery service in Staten Island, told the Advance that the illegal smoke shops within a mile of his business’s Port Richmond headquarters challenge his and others’ business in the legal market.

“I believe they’re getting serious about it,” he said of the enforcement efforts. “I hope they buckle down. It’s going to be very important to us, because if those shops are still open, it’s obviously going to affect our way of doing business.”

To explore the ethical considerations that CPAs and CPA firms should be aware of when considering services to the cannabis industry, attend the Foundation for Accounting Education’s Ethical Considerations in Working with Cannabis Webinar on Jan. 15.