Committee advances hemp-products measure, shifts proposed tax collection to wholesale and adopts distribution amendment

The House Finance, Ways and Means Committee advanced House Bill 13-76 on April 1 after adopting multiple amendments that change how hemp-derived products would be taxed and how revenue from that tax would be distributed.

The bill, carried in committee by Leader Lambert, was amended on the floor of the committee to shift a proposed retail tax to a wholesale collection point, to set per-serving and per-product wholesale rates for several categories of hemp-derived products, and to direct how the wholesale-tax revenue is split among enforcement and the general fund.

The changes matter because they rework the proposed mechanism for taxing hemp-derived products — from retail collection to wholesale — and establish specific per-unit tax formulas and a revenue distribution formula. Supporters said the wholesale approach simplifies administration and aligns collection with existing systems used for alcoholic beverages and tobacco; opponents warned the changes could favor large, vertically integrated firms and hurt small, independent retailers.

Chairman Williams…