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Senate committee rewrites HB1482 to create hemp registry, seizure powers and enforcement funding
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Summary
Lawmakers deleted HB1482’s original contents and approved amendments creating an Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR) hemp registry, immediate seizure authority for unregistered sellers, expanded inspection and forfeiture powers, and appropriation requests for prosecution and lab capacity.
Chair Keohokalole and members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted on March 19 to delete the contents of House Bill 1482 and replace them with a package of enforcement measures aimed at unregulated hemp retailing and distribution.
Why it matters: Committee members said unregulated hemp retailers and high-potency hemp products are proliferating across the islands and undercutting licensed cannabis businesses while posing consumer-safety risks. The adopted amendments move regulation and enforcement authority over hemp products toward the state cannabis regulator and add tools for immediate action by regulators and prosecutors.
The committee’s substitute creates a hemp registry administered by the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR), requires hemp retailers and distributors to register, and gives OMCCR inspection authority and immediate seizure power for products sold by unregistered entities. The amendment directs OMCCR to adopt rules governing transport, sale and registration and adds civil and criminal penalties to the enforcement toolbox. The chair said the change would “bring them into the regulatory regime.”
Deputy Attorney General Alana Bryant told the committee she had offered comments earlier and would be available for follow-up legal questions. Jared Redulla, deputy director for the Department of Law Enforcement (DLE), testified in support and described key capacity gaps: the state’s law-enforcement labs lack the instruments and validated methods to quantify synthetic cannabinoids and some hemp-derived cannabinoids, and DLE included a startup-cost estimate for lab capacity in its written testimony.
Andrew Goff, chief of the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation, testified that the bill’s rewrite would clarify that high‑potency hemp products such as delta‑8 THC are controlled for enforcement and would let OMCCR order immediate seizures rather than only embargos. Goff also requested authority for a retail registry, age-gating mechanisms, seizure authority (the office currently has embargo authority), nuisance‑abatement powers and consumer-protection tools so other agencies (for example, the attorney general and DLE) can assist enforcement.
Committee amendments also add two appropriations: a $750,000 request for the Attorney General’s office to support investigations and prosecutions of illegal hemp operations and a placeholder appropriation for DLE to help establish lab capacity and hire a criminalist. The committee report asks DLE to coordinate with the Department of Transportation’s toxicology resources to consolidate testing where feasible.
Senators debated enforcement jurisdiction during the hearing. Committee members pressed whether local prosecutors were collaborating; testimony indicated the criminal‑justice division of the Attorney General’s office would lead prosecutions and that the Honolulu Prosecutor had not filed testimony on the case discussed in committee. Officials acknowledged gaps in interagency coordination and recommended statutory changes plus funding to build investigative and laboratory capacity.
The committee recommended passage as amended and set a defective effective date of Dec. 31, 2050 to allow further finalization. The measure also directs OMCCR to treat registered medical cannabis dispensaries as part of the hemp registry and to promulgate rules for inter‑dispensary purchases and transport limits in separate cannabis statutes.
What’s next: The committee adopted the substitute and passed the measure out of committee for further legislative consideration with the enforcement package and the requested appropriations included. The committee report and the OMCCR memorandum attached to the hearing record should contain the detailed statutory language the committee approved.
