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Senate committee hears extensive testimony on multiple hemp bills; senators say they will consolidate and seek substitute
Summary
Lawmakers heard hours of testimony from hemp retailers, manufacturers and industry groups opposing several bills that stakeholders say would effectively shutter legal hemp businesses. Senators said they plan to consolidate competing measures into a single substitute and continue negotiations.
A Senate committee heard extensive testimony from hemp retailers, manufacturers and trade groups about a group of bills addressing hemp‑derived products. Witnesses warned that proposals under consideration would impose restrictions that, in their view, would force many legal businesses to close and drive consumers to an unregulated black market.
Representative Witt (sponsor of the vehicle bill in committee) and the committee described the current effort as a work in progress that will consolidate several House and Senate bills into a single Senate substitute. Committee members repeatedly said they intended to gather stakeholder positions and produce a compromise substitute before advancing a final product.
Multiple speakers urged careful regulation rather than sweeping bans. Vendors, franchise owners and manufacturers described robust third‑party testing regimes, age‑21 restrictions in most stores, DEA‑ or ISO‑certified lab testing of finished goods, and the presence of veterans and patients who rely on products. Several witnesses objected to a proposed 5‑milligram per gummy/drink cap and a ban on inhalables, saying those provisions would push consumers to illicit markets. Roger Crawford (SunMed) said his company spends significant sums on testing and compliance and opposed overly broad restrictions that would “throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
Industry witnesses asked the committee to preserve legitimate commerce channels that test finished goods, to permit third‑party laboratory oversight, and to avoid stand‑alone building requirements that would close many existing retail locations in strip centers. Several witnesses urged the creation of an implementation committee and a slower process to fashion practical rules; the committee chair said staff and senators were compiling a matrix of requested changes to develop a single substitute bill.
Committee members confirmed they were holding multiple related bills from different committees and intend to use the House‑passed bill as a vehicle while negotiating a consolidated Senate version. Several senators said they expected substitutions to be circulated next week and encouraged stakeholders to meet with staff and the Pro Tem’s office to refine the draft.
No committee final action was recorded on the consolidated package in the transcript; senators recorded a voice vote for procedural movement on a related matter but emphasized the bills will be worked into a single substitute.
