Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee reviews amendment to tie hemp rules to federal law and ease requirements for small processors
Summary
Legislative counsel walked the committee through draft 3.1 of an amendment to Senate Bill 323 that adds support for small hemp producers, ties the state hemp definition to federal law, permits the Cannabis Control Board to define "craft processors," and authorizes fee waivers and product‑registration rules; members raised constitutional and fiscal concerns.
Bradley Schollman, Office of Legislative Council, walked the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee through draft 3.1 of an amendment to Senate Bill 323 and said the change adds language to the bill’s purpose to "support small business hemp producers and processors" and to help them "take advantage of interstate opportunities." Schollman cautioned the panel that language favoring an intrastate market could raise constitutional issues under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"Just be mindful that if we're talking intrastate markets, exceptions for intrastate processors or producers of hemp, it might run into a privileges and immunities problem," Schollman said, urging the committee to consider striking the word "intrastate." The committee’s Chair and other members agreed that removing the term would preserve the intent to support small businesses while reducing legal risk.
The amendment keeps several permissive…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
