Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                       Raised Bill No. 452
       February Session, 2020                LCO No. 2826
     Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
     Introduced by:
       (ENV)
 AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO THE STATE'S HEMP
 PROGRAM.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
        Section 1. Section 22-61l of the 2020 supplement to the general statutes
    is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from
    passage):
      (a) For the purpose of this section and section 22-61m, as amended by
   this act, the following terms have the same meaning as provided in 7
   CFR 990.1, as amended from time to time: "Acceptable hemp THC level",
   "Agricultural marketing service", "Cannabis", "Conviction", "Corrective
   action plan", "Culpable mental state greater than negligence",
   "Decarboxylated", "Decarboxylation", "Dry weight basis", "Gas
   chromatography", "Geospatial location", "Handle", "High-performance
   liquid chromatography", "Information sharing system", "Measurement
   of         uncertainty",        "Negligence",         "Phytocannabinoid",
   "Postdecarboxylation" and "Reverse distributor". Additionally, for the
   purpose of such sections:
      (1) "Cannabidiol" or "CBD" means [the nonpsychotropic compound
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 by the same name] cannabinoid extract and with a [delta-9
 tetrahydrocannabinol] THC concentration of not more than 0.3 per cent
 on a dry weight basis derived from hemp; [, as defined in the federal
 act;]
   (2) "Certificate of analysis" means a certificate from a laboratory
 describing the results of the laboratory's testing of a sample;
    [(3) "Certified seed" means hemp seed for which a certificate or any
 other instrument has been issued by an agency authorized under the
 laws of a state, territory or possession of the United States to officially
 certify hemp seed and that has standards and procedures approved by
 the United States Secretary of Agriculture to assure the genetic purity
 and identity of the hemp seed certified;]
    [(4)] (3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture, or
 the commissioner's designated agent;
    [(5) "Consumable" means hemp products intended for human
 ingestion, inhalation, absorption or other internal consumption, that
 contains a THC concentration of not more than 0.3 per cent on a dry
 weight basis;]
    [(6)] (4) "Cultivate" means [planting, growing and harvesting a plant
 or] to plant, grow, harvest, handle and store a plant or crop; [for
 commercial or research purposes;]
   [(7)] (5) "Federal act" means the United States Agricultural Marketing
 Act of 1946, 7 USC [1621] 1639o et seq., as amended from time to time;
   [(8)] (6) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture;
    [(9) "Grower" means a person in the state licensed by the
 commissioner to cultivate, grow, harvest, handle, store and market
 hemp pursuant to the federal act, the provisions of this section and the
 regulations adopted pursuant to this section;]
   [(10) "Handle" means possessing or storing hemp for any period of
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 time on premises owned, operated or controlled by a person licensed to
 cultivate or process hemp, and includes possessing or transporting
 hemp;]
    [(11)] (7) "Hemp" has the same meaning as provided in the federal
 act;
    [(12)] (8) "Hemp products" means [products with a delta-9
 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 per cent on a
 dry weight basis derived from, or made by, the processing of hemp
 plants or hemp plant parts] all manufacturer hemp products and
 producer hemp products;
   [(13)] (9) "Independent testing laboratory" means a facility:
    (A) For which no person who has any direct or indirect financial or
 managerial interest in the laboratory and also has any direct or indirect
 interest in a facility that:
   (i) [Processes, cultivates] Produces, distributes, manufactures or sells
 hemp or hemp products, or marijuana in any state or territory of the
 United States; or
   (ii) Cultivates, processes, distributes, dispenses or sells marijuana;
 and
   (B) That is accredited as a laboratory in compliance with section 21a-
 408-59 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies;
    [(14)] (10) "Laboratory" means a laboratory [located in the state that
 is licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection to provide
 analysis of controlled substances pursuant to section 21a-246, The
 University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment
 Station, the Department of Public Health, the United States Food and
 Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture or a
 facility] that meets the [following additional criteria] requirements of 7
 CFR 990.3 and that is accredited as a testing laboratory to International
 Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 by a third-party
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 accrediting body such as the American Association for Laboratory
 Accreditation or the Assured Calibration and Laboratory Accreditation
 Select Services;
   [(15)] (11) "Law enforcement agency" means the Connecticut State
 Police, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the
 Department of Agriculture, the Department of Consumer Protection
 Drug Control Division or any other federal, state or local law
 enforcement agency or drug suppression unit;
    [(16)] (12) "Licensee" means a person who possesses a license to
 [cultivate, process] produce or manufacture hemp or hemp products in
 this state;
    [(17)] (13) "Manufacture" means the conversion of [hemp for the
 purpose of creating a consumable] the hemp plant into a by-product by
 means of adding heat, solvents or any method of extraction that
 modifies the original composition of the plant for the purpose of
 creating a manufacturer hemp product for commercial or research
 purposes;
    [(18)] (14) "Manufacturer" means a person in the state licensed by the
 Commissioner of Consumer Protection to manufacture, handle, store
 and market manufacturer hemp products pursuant to the [federal act,
 the] provisions of section 22-61m, as amended by this act, and any
 regulation adopted pursuant to section 22-61m, as amended by this act;
   [(19)] (15) "Marijuana" has the same meaning as provided in section
 21a-240, as amended by this act;
    [(20)] (16) "Market" or "marketing" means promoting, distributing or
 selling a hemp product within the state, in another state or outside of
 the United States and includes efforts to advertise and gather
 information about the needs or preferences of potential consumers or
 suppliers;
   [(21)] (17) "On-site manager" means the individual designated by the
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 [licensee] producer license applicant or producer responsible for on-site
 management and operations of a licensed [grower or licensed processor]
 producer;
   [(22)] (18) "Pesticide" has the same meaning as "pesticide chemical" as
 provided in section 21a-92;
    [(23) "Plot"] (19) "Lot" means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse
 or indoor growing structure containing the same variety or strain of
 hemp throughout the area;
    [(24)] (20) "Post-harvest sample" means a representative sample of the
 form of hemp taken from the harvested hemp from a particular [plot's]
 lot's harvest that is collected in accordance with the procedures
 established by the commissioner;
   [(25)] (21) "Pre-harvest sample" means a composite, representative
 portion from plants in a hemp [plot] lot, that is collected in accordance
 with the procedures established by the commissioner;
    [(26) "Process"] (22) "Produce" means [using or converting hemp for
 the purpose of creating a form of the commodity, that is not a
 consumable, for commercial or research purposes] to cultivate hemp or
 create any producer hemp product;
    [(27) "Processor" means a person in the state licensed by the
 commissioner to process, handle, store and market hemp pursuant to
 the federal act, the provisions of this section and any regulation adopted
 pursuant to this section;]
    [(28)] (23) "State plan" means a state plan, as described in the federal
 act and as authorized pursuant to this section;
    [(29) "Signing authority" means an officer or agent of the applicant
 with written authorization of such applicant to commit the applicant to
 a binding agreement;]
   [(30)] (24) "THC" means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol;
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   [(31)] (25) "Homogenize" means to blend hemp into a mixture that
 has a uniform quality and content throughout such mixture; [and]
   [(32) "Business entity" means any corporation, limited liability
 company, association or partnership.]
   (26) "Controlled Substances Act" or "CSA" means the Controlled
 Substances Act as codified in 21 USC 801 et seq.;
   (27) "Criminal history report" means the Federal Bureau of
 Investigation's Identity History Summary;
    (28) "Drug Enforcement Administration" or "DEA" means the United
 States Drug Enforcement Administration;
    (29) "Farm service agency" or "FSA" means an agency of the United
 States Department of Agriculture;
    (30) "Key participant" means a sole proprietor, a partner in
 partnership or a person with executive managerial control in an entity,
 including persons such as a chief executive officer, chief operating
 officer and chief financial officer;
    (31) "Manufacturer hemp product" means a commodity
 manufactured from the hemp plant, for commercial or research
 purposes, that is intended for human ingestion, inhalation, absorption
 or other internal consumption, that contains a THC concentration of not
 more than 0.3 per cent on a dry weight basis or per volume or weight of
 such manufactured hemp product;
   (32) "Producer" means an individual or entity licensed by the
 commissioner to produce and market producer hemp products
 pursuant to the federal act, the state plan, the provisions of this section
 and the regulations adopted pursuant to this section;
    (33) "Producer hemp product" means any of the following produced
 in this state: Raw hemp product, fiber-based hemp product or animal
 hemp food product, and each of which contains a THC concentration of
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 not more than 0.3 per cent on a dry weight basis; and
   (34) "USDA" means the United States Department of Agriculture.
    (b) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall establish and operate an
 agricultural pilot program, as defined in 7 USC 5940, as amended from
 time to time, for hemp research to enable the department, and its
 licensees, to study methods of [cultivating, processing] producing and
 marketing hemp. All [grower and processor] producer licensees
 licensed pursuant to this section shall be participants in the state
 agricultural pilot program for hemp research. Until such time as said
 commissioner adopts regulations, in accordance with the provisions of
 chapter 54, the Department of Agriculture shall utilize procedures and
 guidance policies that the commissioner deems to be consistent with the
 provisions of 7 USC 5940, as amended from time to time, provided such
 procedures and guidance policies shall, at a minimum, require: (1) The
 commissioner to certify and register any site used to grow hemp, (2) any
 person who [grows] produces hemp to produce plants that meet the
 definition of hemp and verify such, (3) the maintenance of records by
 any person who grows hemp and the availability of inspection of such
 records by the commissioner, and (4) verification of compliance with the
 definition of hemp by a laboratory, at the expense of any licensee. The
 provisions of this section shall take precedence over any such procedure
 or guidance policy. Participants in the state agricultural pilot program
 for hemp research shall be licensed in accordance with the provisions of
 this section. Such pilot program shall operate until the earlier of the date
 of a fully approved state plan under the federal act, as described in this
 section, or the date of repeal of the federal law permitting the state's
 agricultural pilot program for hemp research.
    (c) (1) The commissioner shall prepare a state plan in accordance with
 the federal act and 7 CFR 990.3, for approval by the Governor, [and
 Attorney General,] in consultation with the office of the Chief State's
 Attorney and the Attorney General. The state plan, once approved by
 the Governor and the Attorney General, shall be submitted by the
 commissioner to the United States Secretary of Agriculture for his or her
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 approval. The commissioner shall have the authority to amend the state
 plan, in consultation with the Governor, [and] the Attorney General [in
 consultation with] and the office of the Chief State's Attorney, as
 necessary to comply with the federal act.
    (2) The commissioner shall operate the state plan, which shall
 include, at a minimum, the following requirements:
   (A) The sampling of hemp shall comply, at a minimum, with 7 CFR
 990.3(a)(2);
   (B) The testing of hemp shall comply, at a minimum, with 7 CFR
 990.3(a)(3);
   (C) The control and disposal of noncompliant cannabis plants shall
 comply with 7 CFR 990.27;
    (D) The department shall comply with all recordkeeping and
 reporting requirements in the federal act, and 7 CFR 990.1 to 7 CFR
 990.71, inclusive;
   (E) The department shall comply with enforcement procedures in 7
 CFR 990.6;
    (F) The department shall conduct annual inspections of, at a
 minimum, a random sample of producers to verify that hemp is not
 produced in violation of the federal act, the state plan and the provisions
 of this section, and shall enforce any violation as provided for in the
 federal act and as defined in 7 CFR 990.6;
    (G) Producers shall report their required license, lot and hemp crop
 acreage information to FSA, in accordance with the requirements in 7
 CFR 990.7; and
    (H) Producers shall report to the commissioner the total acreage of
 hemp planted, harvested and, if applicable, disposed of, and such other
 information as the commissioner may require.
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    (3) All sampling and testing of hemp shall be done using protocols
 that are at least as statistically valid as the USDA's published protocols
 for sampling and testing of hemp, which protocols shall be posted on
 the department's Internet web site. During a scheduled sample
 collection, the producer, or an authorized representative of the
 producer, shall be present at the lot. A producer shall not harvest the
 cannabis crop prior to the taking of samples. Samples of hemp plant
 material from one lot shall not be commingled with hemp plant material
 from other lots. Lots tested and not certified by a laboratory at or below
 the acceptable hemp THC level shall be handled and disposed of in
 accordance with the federal act, the provisions of this section and section
 22-61m, as amended by this act, and the state plan, as applicable.
    (4) The commissioner shall collect, maintain and provide to the
 USDA, on a timely basis, contact information for each hemp producer
 licensed in the state, including lot legal descriptions and locations, and
 any changes to such information. The commissioner shall also report to
 the USDA, on a timely basis, all required hemp test results and disposal
 information for all nonconforming hemp plants and plant material.
 Such information shall not include state and federal fingerprint-based
 records pursuant to section 29-17a.
    (d) The commissioner shall have the authority to enforce the federal
 act, as amended from time to time, the state plan, this section and any
 regulations adopted in accordance with the federal act and chapter 54
 for hemp [cultivation] production in the state. The commissioner shall
 have the authority to enforce the applicable [processing standard]
 standards for producer hemp products. [that are not consumables.] The
 commissioner may consult, collaborate and enter into