Bill Text: VA HB1485 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Industrial hemp; increases maximum THC concentration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-07 - Tabled in Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (12-Y 10-N) [HB1485 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB1485-Introduced.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§3.2-4112, 3.2-4114.2, 3.2-4115, and 3.2-4801 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§3.2-4112. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Cannabis sativa product" means a product made from any part of the plant Cannabis sativa with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law.
"Edible hemp product" means any hemp product that is or includes an industrial hemp extract, as defined in §3.2-5145.1, and that is intended to be consumed orally.
"Federally licensed hemp producer" means a person who holds a hemp producer license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to 7 C.F.R. Part 990.
"Grow" means to plant, cultivate, or harvest a plant or crop.
"Grower" means any person registered pursuant to subsection A of §3.2-4115 to grow industrial hemp.
"Handle" means to temporarily possess industrial hemp grown in compliance with state or federal law that (i) has not been processed and (ii) was not grown by and will not be processed by the person temporarily possessing it.
"Handler" means any person who is registered pursuant to subsection A of §3.2-4115 to handle industrial hemp. "Handler" does not include a retail establishment that sells or offers for sale a hemp product.
"Handler's storage site" means the location at which a handler stores or intends to store the industrial hemp he handles.
"Hemp product" means a product, including any raw materials from industrial hemp that are used for or added to a food or beverage, that (i) contains industrial hemp and has completed all stages of processing needed for the product and (ii) when offered for retail sale (a) contains a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no greater than 0.3 percent and (b) contains either no more than two milligrams of total tetrahydrocannabinol per package or an amount of cannabidiol that is no less than 25 times greater than the amount of total tetrahydrocannabinol per package.
"Hemp product intended for smoking" means any hemp product intended to be consumed by inhalation.
"Industrial hemp" means any part of the plant Cannabis sativa, including seeds thereof, whether growing or not, with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is no greater than that allowed by federal law or one percent, whichever is greater. "Industrial hemp" includes an industrial hemp extract that has not completed all stages of processing needed to convert the extract into a hemp product.
"Process" means to convert industrial hemp into a hemp product.
"Processor" means a person registered pursuant to subsection A of §3.2-4115 to process industrial hemp.
"Process site" means the location at which a processor processes or intends to process industrial hemp.
"Production field" means the land or area on which a grower or a federally licensed hemp producer is growing or intends to grow industrial hemp.
"Regulated hemp product" means a hemp product intended for smoking or an edible hemp product.
"Tetrahydrocannabinol" means any naturally occurring or synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation and any preparation, mixture, or substance containing, or mixed or infused with, any detectable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol. For the purposes of this definition, "isomer" means the optical, position, and geometric isomers.
"Topical hemp product" means a hemp product that (i) is intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof and (ii) is not intended to be consumed orally or by inhalation.
"Total tetrahydrocannabinol" means the sum, after the application of any necessary conversion factor, of the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol and the percentage by weight of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.
§3.2-4114.2. Authority of Commissioner; notice to law enforcement; report.
A. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee not to exceed $250 for any application for registration or renewal of registration allowed under this article. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee for the tetrahydrocannabinol testing allowed under this article. All fees collected by the Commissioner shall be deposited in the state treasury.
B. The Commissioner shall adopt regulations establishing a fee structure for a registration issued pursuant to §3.2-4115. With the exception of §2.2-4031, no provision of the Administrative Process Act (§2.2-4000 et seq.) or public participation guideline adopted pursuant thereto shall apply to the adoption of any regulation pursuant to this subsection. However, prior to adopting any regulation pursuant to this subsection, the Commissioner shall review the recommendation of an advisory panel that shall consider the economic impact of any proposed fee amount on the Commonwealth's industrial hemp industry. The advisory panel shall, at a minimum, include (i) an agribusiness representative or organization, (ii) a farming representative or organization, and (iii) a hemp industry representative or organization. Prior to adopting any regulation pursuant to this subsection, the Commissioner shall publish a notice of opportunity to comment in the Virginia Register of Regulations and post the action on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall. Such notice shall contain (a) a summary of the proposed regulation; (b) the text of the proposed regulation; and (c) the name, address, and telephone number of the agency contact person responsible for receiving public comments. Such notice shall be made at least 60 days in advance of the last date prescribed in such notice of submittals of public comment. The legislative review provisions of subsections A and B of § 2.2-4014 shall apply to the promulgation or final adoption process of regulations pursuant to this subsection. The Commissioner shall consider and keep on file all public comments received for any regulation adopted pursuant to this subsection.
C. The Commissioner may establish an application period for a registration or renewal of registration allowed under this article.
D. The Commissioner shall notify the Superintendent of State Police of each registration issued by the Commissioner under this article and each license submitted to the Commissioner by a federally licensed hemp producer.
E. The Commissioner shall forward a copy or appropriate electronic record of each registration issued by the Commissioner under this article and each license submitted to the Commissioner by a federally licensed hemp producer to the chief law-enforcement officer of the county or city where industrial hemp will be grown, handled, or processed.
F. The Commissioner may monitor the industrial hemp grown, handled, or processed by a person registered pursuant to §3.2-4115 and provide for random sampling and testing of the industrial hemp in accordance with any criteria established by the Commissioner and at the cost of the grower, handler, or processor, for compliance with tetrahydrocannabinol limits and for other appropriate purposes established pursuant to §3.2-4114. In addition to any routine inspection and sampling, the Commissioner may inspect and sample the industrial hemp at any production field, handler's storage site, or process site during normal business hours without advance notice if he has reason to believe a violation of this article is occurring or has occurred.
G. The Commissioner may require a grower, handler, or processor to destroy, at the cost of the grower, handler, or processor and in a manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that the grower grows, the handler handles, or the processor processes that has been tested and is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law, or any Cannabis sativa product that the processor produces.
H. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection G, if the provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 are included in a plan that (i) is submitted by the Department pursuant to §10113 of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334, (ii) requires the Department to monitor and regulate the production of industrial hemp in the Commonwealth, and (iii) is approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture:
1. The Commissioner may require a grower, handler, or
processor to destroy, at the cost of the grower, handler, or processor and in a
manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that
the grower grows, the handler handles, or the processor processes that has been
tested and is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is
greater than 0.6 one
percent only if such Cannabis
sativa is intended for human consumption.
2. If such a test of Cannabis sativa indicates a concentration
of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than 0.6 percent
but less than one percent, the Commissioner shall allow the
grower, handler, or processor to request that the Cannabis sativa be sampled
and tested again before he requires its destruction pursuant to
subdivision 1 if such Cannabis sativa is intended for human consumption.
I. The Commissioner shall advise the Superintendent of State Police or the chief law-enforcement officer of the appropriate county or city when, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, a grower grows, a handler handles, or a processor processes any Cannabis sativa with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law or a processor produces a Cannabis sativa product.
J. The Commissioner may pursue any permits or waivers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or appropriate federal agency that he determines to be necessary for the advancement of the industrial hemp industry.
K. The Commissioner may establish a corrective action plan to address a negligent violation of any provision of this article.
§3.2-4115. Issuance of registrations; exemption.
A. The Commissioner shall establish a registration program to allow a person to grow, handle, or process industrial hemp in the Commonwealth.
B. Any person seeking to grow, handle, or process industrial hemp in the Commonwealth shall apply to the Commissioner for a registration on a form provided by the Commissioner. At a minimum, the application shall include:
1. The name and mailing address of the applicant;
2. The legal description and geographic data sufficient for locating (i) the land on which the applicant intends to grow industrial hemp, (ii) the site at which the applicant intends to handle industrial hemp, or (iii) the site at which the applicant intends to process industrial hemp. A registration shall authorize industrial hemp growth, handling, or processing only at the location specified in the registration;
3. A signed statement indicating whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony. A person with a prior felony drug conviction within 10 years of applying for a registration under this section shall not be eligible to be registered;
4. Written consent allowing the sheriff's office, police department, or Department of State Police, if a registration is ultimately issued to the applicant, to enter the premises on which the industrial hemp is grown, handled, or processed to conduct physical inspections of the industrial hemp and to ensure compliance with the requirements of this article. No more than two physical inspections shall be conducted under this subdivision per year, unless a valid search warrant for an inspection has been issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
5. Written consent allowing the Commissioner or his designee to enter the premises on which the industrial hemp is grown, handled, or processed to conduct inspections and sampling of the industrial hemp to ensure compliance with the requirements of this article;
6. A statement of the approximate square footage or acreage of the location he intends to use as a production field, handler's storage site, or process site; and
7. Any other information
required by the Commissioner; and
8. The
payment of a nonrefundable application fee, in an amount set by the
Commissioner, not to exceed $50.
C. Each registration issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed in successive years. Each annual renewal shall require the payment of a registration renewal fee, in an amount set by the Commissioner.
D. All records, data, and information filed in support of a registration application submitted pursuant to this section and all information on a hemp producer license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture submitted to the Commissioner pursuant to this section shall be considered proprietary and excluded from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§2.2-3700 et seq.).
E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B, no federally licensed hemp producer shall be required to apply to the Commissioner for a registration to grow industrial hemp in the Commonwealth. Each federally licensed hemp producer shall submit to the Commissioner a copy of his hemp producer license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture pursuant to 7 C.F.R. Part 990.
F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B or any other provision of law, any grower of industrial hemp that is (i) only grown for the purposes of fiber, hurds, or grain production and (ii) sold or processed within the Commonwealth shall be exempt from all licensing requirements of the Department and the Cannabis Control Act (§4.1-600 et seq.).
§3.2-4801. Authority of the Board and the Commissioner to adopt regulations.
A. The Board may adopt regulations for commercial feeds as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
B. The Commissioner may adopt as a regulation:
1. The official Definitions of Feed Ingredients, Official Feed Terms, and analytical variations adopted by the Association of American Feed Control Officials and published in the Official Publication of that organization;
2. Any federal regulation that pertains to this chapter, amending it as necessary for intrastate applicability;
3. The methods of sampling and analysis for commercial feed and the components of commercial feed adopted by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists in the publication of that organization; and
4. Any method of sampling and analysis for commercial feed and the components of commercial feed developed by the Department or adopted by agencies of the federal government, agencies of other states, the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services or other commercial laboratories accredited by the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture or Association of Official Analytical Chemists.
C. Such regulations adopted by the Commissioner shall be effective upon filing with the Registrar of Regulations, who shall publish the regulation as a final regulation in the Virginia Register of Regulations. The regulation shall contain a preamble stating that the Board will receive, consider, and respond to petitions by any interested person at any time with respect to reconsideration or revision of such regulation.
D. The Board, after giving notice in the Virginia Register of Regulations, may reconsider and revise the regulation adopted by the Commissioner. Such revised regulation shall be effective upon filing with the Registrar of Regulations, who shall publish the regulation as a final regulation in the Virginia Register of Regulations.
E. Neither the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) nor public participation guidelines adopted pursuant thereto shall apply to the adoption, reconsideration, or revision of any regulation adopted pursuant to subsections B, C, and D.
F. The Board or Commissioner shall not adopt any regulation that prohibits the use of industrial hemp or a hemp product, as those terms are defined in §3.2-4112, in the production of any product regulated by the Board pursuant to this chapter.
