Committee votes to cut remaining state hemp-program funding after debate over transparency

The Joint Committee on Appropriations voted to eliminate the remaining state funding associated with the hemp program after a contentious debate on transparency and budget practices.

Senator Howard moved motion B5, saying the original hemp program had been funded at $350,000 when created but the administration's elimination proposal removed only $200,000; Howard urged fully eliminating the program's funding so taxpayers see the dollars returned to the general budget. "If the program's eliminated, the taxpayers expect the money for that program to be cut," he said.

Department Secretary Hunter Roberts urged the committee to oppose the amendment, saying some of the funds were used for lab testing, in‑state travel, and responses to pesticide or contamination incidents and that the department had absorbed program funding into other operating needs over several years. Jim Twilliger of BFM said the department's voluntary proposal to reduce the program represented good behavior and cautioned that removing the funds now could require putting them back later to maintain core services.

After extended discussion about budgeting transparency, rent and operating pressures and the appropriate allocation of previously dedicated funds, the committee adopted Senator Howard's B5 motion by roll call (10 yays, eight nays). The committee later approved the department's broader motion sheet to set the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources budget.

Members urged the department to return with a clarified motion sheet later in the day if they wanted to eliminate the program while explicitly funding other necessary lab and travel items; the chair allowed agency staff to work with members on that alignment during the brief recess. The vote implements the committee's decision on the hemp program funding level at this stage of budget setting.