HB 156: "An Act relating to industrial hemp; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 156 01 "An Act relating to industrial hemp; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 03.05.010(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall 05 (1) direct, administer, and supervise promotional and experimental 06 work, extension services, and agricultural projects for the purpose of promoting and 07 developing commercial and noncommercial agricultural industry in the state, 08 including horticulture, dairying, cattle raising, fur farming, grain production, vegetable 09 production, and agricultural products; 10 (2) procure and preserve all information pertaining to developing the 11 agricultural industry in the state and disseminate that information to the public; 12 (3) assist prospective settlers and others to engage in the agricultural 13 industry in the state by providing information about activities and programs essential 14 to developing the agricultural industry and areas in the state that are suitable for 15 agriculture;
01 (4) review the marketing, financing, transportation, and development 02 of agricultural products in the state, with special emphasis on local production, and 03 negotiate for the marketing of agricultural products of the state with federal and state 04 agencies operating in the state; 05 (5) regulate and control the entry in the state and the transportation, 06 sale, or use in the state of plants, seeds, vegetables, shell eggs, fruits and berries, 07 nursery stock, animal feeds, remedies and mineral supplements, fertilizers, and 08 agricultural chemicals to prevent the spread of pests, diseases, or toxic substances 09 injurious to the public interest and protect the agricultural industry against fraud, 10 deception, and misrepresentation; for purposes of this paragraph, the commissioner 11 may require registration, inspection, and testing [,] and may establish procedures and 12 fees; 13 (6) regulate the farming of elk in a manner similar to the manner in 14 which the commissioner regulates domestic animals and livestock, to the extent that is 15 appropriate; 16 (7) adopt regulations relating to industrial hemp, including regulations 17 that 18 (A) specify approved sources or varieties of hemp seed to be 19 grown, sold, or offered for sale by an individual registered to produce 20 industrial hemp; 21 (B) require testing, paid for by the registrant, for delta-9- 22 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration following harvest of the industrial hemp; 23 (C) provide for general production practices to avoid the 24 unintended distribution of industrial hemp seeds by registrants into 25 nonagricultural land; 26 (D) establish isolation distances for the production of industrial 27 hemp; in this subparagraph, "isolation distance" means the minimum 28 separation required between two or more varieties of the plant (genus) 29 Cannabis for the purpose of keeping the seed pure; 30 (E) permit manufacturing and retail sale of industrial hemp 31 and products made from industrial hemp;
01 (F) establish a registration and renewal procedure for a 02 participant in the industrial hemp program developed under 03 AS 03.05.076; 04 (8) submit a list of individuals registered to produce industrial hemp 05 under AS 03.05.076 and the expiration dates of the registrations to the Marijuana 06 Control Board and the Department of Public Safety; 07 (9) regulate the labeling of seed that does not comply with the 08 requirements of AS 03.20.130. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 03.05.010(c) is amended to read: 10 (c) The commissioner of natural resources may [SHALL] issue a stop order to 11 any person who is found to be producing a plant product with delta-9- 12 tetrahydrocannabinol over 0.3 percent, regardless of whether the person is registered 13 under AS 03.05.076. The commissioner of natural resources shall notify the Marijuana 14 Control Board and the Department of Public Safety when the commissioner issues a 15 stop order. 16 * Sec. 3. AS 03.05.076(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) Industrial hemp is an agricultural crop in the state. An individual who 18 produces industrial hemp shall apply to the department for registration under this 19 section. Registration is valid for one year but may be renewed. An application for 20 registration or renewal must be on a form prescribed by the department that includes 21 (1) the name and address of the applicant; 22 (2) the address and global positioning system coordinates of the area to 23 be used for the production of industrial hemp; and 24 (3) a signed statement by the applicant, made under the penalty of 25 perjury, affirming that the applicant 26 (A) has not been convicted of a felony related to a 27 controlled substance in this or another jurisdiction within the 10 years 28 immediately preceding the date of application; or 29 (B) was lawfully growing hemp before December 20, 2018, 30 and was not convicted of a felony related to a controlled substance in this 31 or another jurisdiction after that date.
01 * Sec. 4. AS 03.05.076 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 02 (i) The department may develop an industrial hemp program that complies 03 with federal requirements and submit a program plan to the United States Department 04 of Agriculture for approval. 05 * Sec. 5. AS 03.05.079 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 03.05.079. Production in violation of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol 07 limit. Notwithstanding AS 11.71.040 - 11.71.060, an individual registered under 08 AS 03.05.076 to produce industrial hemp whose product has a delta-9- 09 tetrahydrocannabinol content between 0.3 percent and one percent may retain and 10 recondition the product as provided in AS 03.05.076(b)(4) [IS GUILTY OF A 11 VIOLATION]. 12 * Sec. 6. AS 03.05.079 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (b) An individual who retains but fails to recondition an industrial hemp 14 product described in (a) of this section is guilty of a violation. 15 * Sec. 7. AS 03.05.100(5) is amended to read: 16 (5) "industrial hemp" means [ALL PARTS AND VARIETIES OF] the 17 plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including its seeds and all 18 derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, 19 whether growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 20 [CONTAINING] not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis [DELTA-9- 21 TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL]. 22 * Sec. 8. AS 03.05.077 is repealed. 23 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 CONDITIONAL EFFECT; NOTIFICATION TO REVISOR OF STATUTES. (a) 26 Section 8 of this Act takes effect only if the United States Department of Agriculture approves 27 an industrial hemp program plan submitted by the Department of Natural Resources under 28 AS 03.05.076(i) before January 1, 2030. 29 (b) If the United States Department of Agriculture approves an industrial hemp 30 program submitted under AS 03.05.076(i), the commissioner of natural resources shall notify 31 the revisor of statutes not later than 30 days after receiving notice of the approval.
01 * Sec. 10. If, under sec. 9(a) of this Act, sec. 8 of this Act takes effect, it takes effect on the 02 day after the date on which the revisor of statutes receives notice from the commissioner of 03 natural resources under sec. 9(b) of this Act.