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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 999
Introduced by Ibach, 44; Ballard, 21; Blood, 3; Bostelman, 23; Brandt,
32; DeKay, 40; Holdcroft, 36; Hughes, 24; Lowe, 37; Meyer,
41; Sanders, 45; von Gillern, 4; Walz, 15.
Read first time January 05, 2024
Committee: Agriculture
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to agriculture; to amend sections 2-501,
2 2-503, 2-505, 2-509, 2-515, 2-518, and 2-958, Reissue Revised
3 Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 28-401, 28-476, and 81-2,162.27,
4 Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to define and redefine
5 terms under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act; to change federal
6 references; to change provisions relating to the cultivation,
7 possession, handling, transportation, processing, use, and
8 consumption of hemp as prescribed; to provide an exception; to
9 terminate funds and make fund transfers; to provide for
10 reimbursement of certain licensee fees; to eliminate obsolete
11 provisions; to redefine terms under the Controlled Substances Act;
12 to eliminate provisions relating to industrial hemp; to harmonize
13 provisions; to provide severability; to repeal the original
14 sections; to outright repeal sections 2-502, 2-504, 2-506, 2-507,
15 2-508, 2-510, 2-511, 2-512, 2-513, 2-514, 2-516, 2-517, 2-519, and
16 2-5701, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska; and to declare an
17 emergency.
18 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 2-501, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 2-501 Sections 2-501 to 2-518 2-519 shall be known and may be cited
4 as the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.
5 Sec. 2. Section 2-503, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
6 amended to read:
7 2-503 For purposes of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act:
8 (1) Acceptable hemp THC level has the same meaning as in 7 C.F.R.
9 990.1, as such section existed on January 1, 2020;
10 (1) (2) Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 means section 10113 of
11 the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115-334, and
12 any regulations adopted and promulgated under such section, as such
13 section, act, and regulations existed on January 1, 2024 2020;
14 (2) Cannabidiol products means finished consumer products that
15 contain cannabidiol extracted or derived from hemp and do not contain any
16 amount or concentration of other cannabinoids, including, but not limited
17 to, tetrahydrocannabinol or any isomers, acids, salts, and salts of
18 isomers of tetrahydrocannabinol;
19 (3) Approved testing facility means a testing facility approved by
20 the department;
21 (4) Broker means a person who engages or participates in the
22 marketing of hemp by acting as an intermediary or negotiator between
23 prospective buyers and sellers;
24 (5) Commercial sale means the sale of products in the stream of
25 commerce, at retail, wholesale, and online;
26 (6) Commission means the Nebraska Hemp Commission;
27 (3) (7) Cultivate or cultivating means planting, watering, growing,
28 and harvesting a hemp plant or crop. The presence of plants of the plant
29 Cannabis sativa L. growing as uncultivated, naturalized plants in the
30 environment is not cultivating hemp for purposes of the Nebraska Hemp
31 Farming Act;
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1 (8) Cultivator means a person who cultivates hemp;
2 (9) Department means the Department of Agriculture;
3 (10) Director means the Director of Agriculture or his or her
4 designee;
5 (11) GPS coordinates means latitude and longitude coordinates
6 derived from a global positioning system;
7 (12) Handle or handling means possessing or storing hemp plants or
8 hemp plant parts prior to cultivation, in the process of cultivation, or
9 after being harvested or dried but before processing. Handle or handling
10 also includes possessing or storing such hemp plants or hemp plant parts
11 in a vehicle for any period of time other than during its actual
12 transport from the premises of a person licensed to cultivate or process
13 hemp to the premises of another licensee. Handle or handling does not
14 include possessing, storing, or transporting finished hemp products or
15 hemp seeds;
16 (4)(a) (13) Hemp means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of
17 such plant, including the viable seeds of such plant and all derivatives,
18 extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers,
19 whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration
20 of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis for raw hemp and not
21 more than 0.3 percent on a percentage by weight basis for processed hemp.
22 (b) Hemp does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber
23 produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant,
24 any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or
25 preparation of such mature stalks, or the sterilized seed of such plant
26 which is incapable of germination. Any product containing hemp as
27 described in this subdivision is considered hemp . Hemp shall be
28 considered an agricultural commodity. Notwithstanding any other provision
29 of law, hemp shall not be considered a controlled substance under the
30 Uniform Controlled Substances Act;
31 (14) Licensee means an individual or a business entity possessing a
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1 license issued by the department under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act,
2 including authorized employees or agents of such licensee, to cultivate,
3 handle, process, or broker hemp;
4 (15) Location ID means the unique identifier established by a
5 licensee for each unique set of GPS coordinates where hemp is cultivated,
6 handled, or processed;
7 (16) Lot means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor
8 growing structure containing the same variety or strain of hemp
9 throughout such area;
10 (17) Measurement of uncertainty has the same meaning as in 7 C.F.R.
11 990.1, as such section existed on January 1, 2020;
12 (5) (18) Person means an individual, partnership, corporation,
13 limited liability company, association, postsecondary institution, or
14 other legal entity;
15 (19) Postsecondary institution means a postsecondary institution as
16 defined in section 85-2403 that also meets the requirements of 20 U.S.C.
17 1001, as such section existed on January 1, 2019;
18 (6) (20) Process or processing means converting hemp plants or plant
19 parts into a marketable form;
20 (7) State-program-licensed hemp producer means a person licensed
21 under a USDA-approved state or tribal program as authorized under the
22 Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and includes the authorized employees
23 or agents of such person;
24 (21) Processor-handler means a person who handles or processes hemp;
25 (22) Site means an area defined by the same legal description in a
26 field, greenhouse, or other outdoor area or indoor structure, or for a
27 mobile processor, such processor's primary place of business;
28 (8) USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture (23) THC
29 means tetrahydrocannabinol; and
30 (9) (24) USDA-licensed hemp producer means a person licensed by the
31 USDA United States Department of Agriculture to produce hemp as provided
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1 in 7 C.F.R. part 990, subpart C, as such regulations existed on January
2 1, 2024, and includes the authorized employees or agents of such person
3 2020.
4 Sec. 3. Section 2-505, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
5 amended to read:
6 2-505 (1) Hemp, other than cannabidiol products, shall not be
7 cultivated, possessed, handled, transported, processed, used, or consumed
8 in this state, except that:
9 (a) (1) Hemp may only be cultivated in this state by a USDA-licensed
10 hemp producer, in accordance with such producer's USDA-issued license, to
11 be transported to another state for processing or use; and or a person
12 meeting the requirements of section 2-5701 or in compliance with this
13 section.
14 (b) Hemp may be transported pursuant to section 2-515.
15 (2) This section does not apply to cannabidiol products possessed,
16 handled, transported, used, or consumed in accordance with (a) the
17 Nebraska Pure Food Act or (b) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
18 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq., and any regulations adopted and promulgated under
19 such act, as such act and regulations existed on January 1, 2024. Before
20 a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the Nebraska Hemp
21 Farming Act, such person shall submit an application on a form prescribed
22 by the department that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
23 (a) If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's full name,
24 birthdate, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address;
25 (b) If the applicant is an entity and not an individual, (i) the
26 name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email
27 address, (ii) the full name of each officer, director, partner, member,
28 or owner owning in excess of ten percent of equity or stock in such
29 entity, (iii) the full name of each key participant as defined in 7
30 C.F.R. 990.1, and (iv) the birthdate, title, mailing address, telephone
31 number, and valid email address of each such person or key participant;
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1 (c) The proposed acreage to be cultivated or the square footage of a
2 greenhouse or other indoor space to be cultivated;
3 (d) The street address, legal description, location ID, and GPS
4 coordinates for each field, greenhouse, building, or other site where
5 hemp will be cultivated. The site information may be verified by the
6 department; and
7 (e) Maps depicting each site where hemp will be cultivated, with
8 appropriate indications for entrances, field boundaries, and specific
9 locations corresponding to the GPS coordinates provided under subdivision
10 (d) of this subsection.
11 (3) Before a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the
12 Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, such person shall submit with the application
13 a nonrefundable application fee as set by the department pursuant to
14 section 2-508.
15 (4) Before a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the
16 Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, such person shall submit a site registration
17 fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508. The site
18 registration fee shall be paid for each separate site where the applicant
19 will cultivate hemp. Subsequent modifications to the sites listed in the
20 application shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department
21 along with a site modification fee and shall only take effect upon
22 written approval of the department. The applicant must certify that all
23 sites where hemp is to be cultivated are under the control of the
24 applicant and that the department shall have unlimited access to all such
25 sites.
26 (5) After the department receives approval by the United States
27 Secretary of Agriculture for the state plan described in section 2-516,
28 an initial cultivator license application may be submitted at any time,
29 except that the department may set a cutoff date for applications ahead
30 of the growing season. An initial cultivator license issued by the
31 department expires on December 31 in the calendar year for which it was
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1 issued.
2 (6) A renewal application for a license to cultivate hemp shall be
3 submitted on forms prescribed by the department. A renewal application is
4 due by December 31 and shall be accompanied by the cultivator license fee
5 and the site registration fee for all sites listed in the renewal
6 application. The renewal cultivator license is valid from January 1 or
7 when the license is granted, whichever is later, through December 31 next
8 following.
9 (7) A cultivator license shall lapse automatically upon a change of
10 ownership or location, and a new license must be obtained. The licensee
11 shall promptly provide notice of change in ownership or location to the
12 department.
13 (8) An application and supporting documents submitted to the
14 department under this section are not public records subject to
15 disclosure pursuant to sections 84-712 to 84-712.09. Such information may
16 be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to
17 the requirements of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or
18 any other federal statute, rule, or regulation, and may be submitted to
19 law enforcement.
20 Sec. 4. Section 2-509, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
21 amended to read:
22 2-509 The Nebraska Hemp Program Fund is established. The fund
23 terminates on the effective date of this act and the State Treasurer
24 shall transfer any money in the fund on such date to the Noxious Weed
25 Cash Fund shall be administered by the department for the purpose of
26 covering the costs of the department in administering sections 2-504 to
27 2-516 and 2-5701. The fund may receive appropriations by the Legislature,
28 gifts, grants, federal funds, and any other funds both public and
29 private. All fees collected by the department under sections 2-508 and
30 2-5701 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund.
31 Transfers from the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund to the Noxious Weed Cash
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1 Fund may be made as provided in section 2-958. Transfers from the
2 Nebraska Hemp Program Fund to the Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners
3 Administrative Fund may be made as provided in section 81-2,162.27. Any
4 money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state
5 investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the
6 Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.
7 Sec. 5. Section 2-515, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
8 amended to read:
9 2-515 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) (4) of this section,
10 any USDA-licensed hemp producer or state-program-licensed hemp producer
11 cultivator transporting hemp cultivated under the Nebraska Hemp Farming
12 Act shall carry with the hemp being transported a copy of the USDA
13 cultivator license or state program license under which it was cultivated
14 and a copy of the test results pertaining to each lot of hemp being
15 transported.
16 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any
17 processor-handler transporting hemp processed under the Nebraska Hemp
18 Farming Act shall carry with the hemp