Bill Text: HI SB411 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Maui County Package; Industrial Hemp
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-21 - Re-Referred to WLA/HEA/PSM, JDL/WAM. [SB411 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-SB411-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
411 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to industrial hemp.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Act 56, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, is amended by amending sections 1 to 4 to read as follows:
"SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Section 7606 of the United States Agricultural Act of 2014 authorizes institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture to conduct industrial hemp research. The legislature also finds that industrial hemp can be grown or cultivated for research purposes.
The legislature further finds that the State will benefit from research for phytoremediation, which is the environmentally-friendly science of using plants and trees to remove toxins in the soil, such as metals, pesticides, solvents, explosives, and crude oil. These toxins can be reduced by planting specific plants and trees, called hyperaccumulators, in polluted areas. Specifically, these plants and trees draw in the toxins, along with beneficial nutrients, through their roots as nourishment and concentrate them in their stems, shoots, and leaves, which can then be harvested and disposed of safely. The nutrient uptake process leaves a clean, balanced, and nutrient rich soil, which can then be safely used for agriculture or improving conservation habitats.
The legislature additionally finds that hemp is a superior phytoremediator because it grows quickly and can extract toxins without the need to remove any of the contaminated topsoil. Other factors that make hemp a superior phytoremediator are its ability to grow unaffected by the toxins it accumulates, its fast rate of absorption, and its ability to bind compound contaminants from the air and the soil. A factor that makes the State a particularly compelling candidate for hemp-based phytoremediation is that the State's extensive agricultural operations in the past have left toxins in vast tracts of land. Phytoremediation will remove those toxins.
The legislature also finds that industrial hemp is an environmentally friendly and efficient feedstock for biofuel. Biodiesel plants already in existence in the State are capable of meeting eight per cent of the State's biodiesel needs for ground transportation. These biodiesel plants could increase their efficiency by utilizing industrial hemp as a feedstock, thus reducing the State's reliance on imported fuel.
The legislature also finds that industrial hemp has great potential as a component of manufacturing products, such as hemp oil for human and livestock consumption and hemp fiber for clothing and building materials.
The legislature recognizes that tri-cropping industrial hemp, such as rotating hemp crops on the same location between hemp cultivars for seed oil production, fiber products, and biofuel, maximizes the potential for hemp production.
The legislature also finds that different hemp cultivars are appropriate for different end uses, and each cultivar is best grown in a location specific for that cultivar.
The purpose of this Act is to authorize an
industrial hemp research program in each county, established by the dean of
the college of tropical agriculture and human resources at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa [to establish a two-year industrial hemp remediation and
biofuel crop research program.] working in conjunction with the chairperson
of the board of agriculture.
SECTION 2. (a) The dean of the college of
tropical agriculture and human resources at the University of Hawaii, working
in conjunction with the chairperson of the board of agriculture, may
establish a two-year industrial hemp [remediation and biofuel crop]
research program in each county that shall include the authority to grow
or cultivate industrial hemp in accordance with the requirements established
under section 7606 of the federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79)[,
provided that the]. The authority to grow or cultivate industrial
hemp under this Act shall only apply to industrial hemp grown or cultivated for
the research program established under this Act. [Through the research
program, the dean may determine how soils and water may be made more pristine
and healthy by phytoremediation, removal of contaminants, and rejuvenation
through the growth of industrial hemp, as well as the viability of industrial
hemp as a biofuel feedstock.]
The research program shall use four test sites, one in each county, to grow and cultivate industrial hemp. The dean of the college of tropical agriculture and human resources at the University of Hawaii, working in conjunction with the chairperson of the board of agriculture, shall determine which test shall be conducted in each county. Funding for the program at each test site may be provided by a federal, state, county, or private entity, solely or collaboratively, as determined by the dean and the chairperson.
The testing goal of the research program in each county may be to determine either:
(1) How soils and water may be made more pristine and healthy by phytoremediation, removal of contaminants, and rejuvenation through the growth of industrial hemp, as well as the viability of industrial hemp as a biofuel feedstock; or
(2) The best cultivars for, and the viability of, industrial hemp as oil and oil products for human and livestock consumption and as fiber for clothing and building materials. Tri-cropping methodology, sequentially growing crops for seed oil, fiber, and energy products, may be implemented for tests under this subsection.
(b) The dean and chairperson may
work in collaboration with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, its
affiliates, and the department of molecular biosciences and bioengineering at
the University of Hawaii John A. Burns school of medicine to determine the
viability of industrial hemp as a biofuel feedstock[.] and for any
other purpose set forth in this Act, as appropriate.
[(b)] (c) The department of
agriculture shall certify that the seed stock to be used in the research
program is for growing industrial hemp. The research program established under
subsection (a) shall only use industrial hemp seed stock that is certified by
the department of agriculture. If the seed stock cannot be verified by the
department of agriculture as industrial hemp seed stock, the dean shall not
commence the growing or cultivation of industrial hemp for the research program.
[(c) The research program shall use only
one test site to grow and cultivate industrial hemp.]
(d) [The dean of the college of tropical
agriculture and human resources at the University of Hawaii shall submit a]
The chairperson of the board of agriculture shall submit a final report[,]
for each testing site concerning all tests performed under this section,
including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than [twenty
days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2016 on the following:]
three years after the date testing is initiated at that site, or by July 1,
2018, whichever is earlier. For purposes of this subsection, testing is
initiated on the day the first hemp seed is planted at a test site.
(e) For testing under subsection (a)(1), the report shall include the following:
(1) The rate of contamination uptake from soil and water;
(2) The mode of efficient uptake from soil and water;
(3) The rate of carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle;
(4) The locations in the roots, stems, leaves, and flowers of the plants at which contaminants are fixated;
(5) What contaminants are stabilized in the plants;
(6) What contaminants on the site need additional treatment in order to make the soil or water healthy and pristine;
(7) A baseline for plants cultivated in a clean soil;
(8) The viability of industrial hemp as a biofuel feedstock; and
(9) Any other data deemed important by the dean[.]
and chairperson.
(f) For testing under subsection (a)(2), the report shall include the following:
(1) The cultivars chosen and reasons for selection;
(2) Soil and water requirements, including salinity;
(3) Germination period experienced for each cultivar;
(4) Notable disease, pest, and weed management issues;
(5) Nutrient and fertilizer requirements;
(6) Yield potential for each cultivar during various growing periods, including seed oil yield, biomass yield, and potential for meal for either livestock or human consumption;
(7) Harvesting recommendations and overall performance results; and
(8) Any other data deemed important by the dean and chairperson.
[(e)] (g) For purposes of this
Act, the term "industrial hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L.
and any part of that plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 per cent on a dry
weight basis. Any plant that meets the definition of "industrial
hemp" under this Act shall not constitute "marijuana" as defined
in section 329-1 or 712-1240, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
SECTION 3. (a) No person shall be subject to
any civil or criminal sanctions in this State for growing or possessing
industrial hemp; provided that the person's growing or possession of industrial
hemp is part of the person's participation in [the] a two-year
industrial hemp [remediation and biofuel crop] research program authorized
by this Act and the person's participation is in full compliance with the
requirements of the program.
(b) The department of agriculture shall test
and monitor the plants growing on the test site to ensure that no marijuana is
grown on the site. If marijuana is found to be growing or being cultivated on [the]
a test site, then the research project on that site shall cease
immediately.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July
1, 2014, and shall be repealed on July 1, [2016.] 2018."
SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Maui County Package; Industrial Hemp
Description:
Amends Act 56, SLH 2014, regarding an industrial hemp research program, to expand the type of research to be conducted, require a test site in each county, and extend the repeal date to 7/1/2018.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
