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Q&A
Discussion on cannabis enforcement payments and litigation
2:08:45
ยท
144 sec
Council Member Brewer inquires about payments from closed cannabis businesses and ongoing litigation regarding OATH's handling of cannabis cases. Commissioner Rahman explains OATH's role in recording payments and defends the quality of their hearing officers' decisions.
- OATH is the system of record for summons penalties and payments but does not collect payments
- Rahman expresses confidence in the capabilities of OATH hearing officers for cannabis cases
- Active litigation prevents detailed comments on challenges to OATH decisions
Gale A. Brewer
2:08:45
I wanna talk about cannabis.
2:08:46
I'm obviously interested in this topic.
2:08:48
So two things.
2:08:49
Are you getting payments from those that have been closed?
2:08:53
Because I know that was a concern.
2:08:55
And then also, I think there's ongoing litigation that includes questions, about the unit's training and knowledge needed to preside over the cases.
2:09:05
I didn't know if you were doing anything different in order to deal with that issue.
2:09:08
Number two is pedicabs.
2:09:10
Why do some violations go to oath and others to the Midtown Court?
2:09:15
I'm a big fan of judge Wang at the midtown court, and he doesn't know why there's a difference also.
2:09:21
And also, do you have any recommendations on how to deal deal with these pedicab issues?
Asim Rahman
2:09:26
Thank you.
2:09:27
And thank you for the kind words, council member Brewer, and we always appreciate your engagement with Oath and coming out to your district where we can work with your constituents on matters they may As to your questions regarding cannabis, Oath is the system of record with respect to payments made when a summons penalty is imposed.
2:09:52
So if a hearing happens or there's a default and a penalty is imposed, we're the system of record that has the data both on what's been imposed, what's been paid, and what hasn't been paid.
2:10:02
We are not in the business of going out and collecting on those.
Gale A. Brewer
2:10:05
No, that's finance.
Asim Rahman
2:10:06
Right.
2:10:07
And so we do have information and data on how much has been paid and how much hasn't been paid on that summons, those summons codes.
2:10:14
As for training, if there's active litigation, of which we know that there are some challenges regarding decisions that have come out of oath, That's not something I can comment on and that would be more appropriate for the law department.
2:10:28
I'm not aware, and I'm happy to follow-up, I'm not aware of particular real kind of substantive allegations that have been made regarding the training and competence of our hearing officers.
2:10:39
But I can tell you anecdotally that I read the decisions that come out from our various hearing officers, and I've looked closely at the ones that are being issued regarding the cannabis cases.
2:10:53
I don't overrule them.
2:10:54
They are independent hearing officers.
2:10:56
But I find the quality of them to be very good, thorough, engaging with the evidence, explaining the law.
2:11:02
So I feel very confident in the capabilities of our hearing officers for these cases.
Gale A. Brewer
2:11:09
Okay.