Committee adopts hemp-definition amendment and advances House committee substitute for HB26-41; HB16-25 also passed

The House Committee on Public Safety adopted a committee amendment to House Bill 26-41 that rewords and aligns the bill’s definition of “hemp” to existing statutory language and advanced a committee substitute on a 15–1 roll-call vote. Earlier in the executive session the committee also voted House Bill 16-25 "do pass" by voice and roll call (reported as 16 ayes, 0 noes).

The amendment (identified in committee as the 0.01h amendment) made multiple technical and substantive changes, according to the chair’s summary: it ties the bill’s definition of "hemp" to the statutory section (noted in committee as section 195.900), removes language committee members said was confusing, deletes the words "empowered, mandated and otherwise" at the Department of Public Safety’s suggestion, renumbers subsections, and changes an internal effective-date reference so it would match the effective date of a potential federal bill (identified in committee as HR 7010).

Sponsor discussion focused on whether the cross-reference would unintentionally sweep industrial hemp (used for textiles, feed and other non-intoxicating purposes) into the same prohibitions applicable to intoxicating hemp or hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Representative Hinman, who explained the amendment on the floor, said the statutory subsections are structured so that "industrial hemp" is a separate category from "hemp-derived cannabinoid products" and the amendment intends to preserve that distinction. Several members pressed for clarity on how the subsections interact before the vote.

Committee members then voted to adopt the committee amendment and to roll it into a House committee substitute. The roll-call vote on the substitute was recorded as 15 ayes and 1 no; the chair announced the committee substitute for HB26-41 "do pass." The committee recorded the earlier executive-session vote on HB16-25 as 16 ayes and 0 noes.

The committee did not take final floor action on either bill in the hearing; the committee-substitute recommendation will be transmitted according to the chamber’s rules. Committee materials and the adopted amendment text were distributed to members at the hearing.