Bill Text: TX HB2818 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the production and regulation of hemp; providing an administrative penalty; requiring a permit to conduct certain research involving hemp; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal offense.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-04 - Referred to Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs [HB2818 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2818-Engrossed.html

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By: Cain, Rosenthal, King of Uvalde, Toth, H.B. No. 2818
Bernal, et al.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the production and regulation of hemp; providing an
administrative penalty; requiring a permit to conduct certain
research involving hemp; authorizing a fee; creating a criminal
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 41.002(1), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(1) "Agricultural commodity" means an agricultural,
horticultural, viticultural, or vegetable product, bees and honey,
planting seed, rice, hemp, livestock or livestock product, or
poultry or poultry product, produced in this state, either in its
natural state or as processed by the producer. The term does not
include flax.
SECTION 2. Section 121.003, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Not later than the 120th day after the date a change to a
state statute, federal statute, or federal regulation takes effect,
the department shall submit to the secretary of the United States
Department of Agriculture any amendments to the state plan
necessary to incorporate and implement the change.
SECTION 3. Section 122.001, Agriculture Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (5) and adding Subdivision (8-a) to read as
follows:
(5) "Institution of higher education" and "private or
independent institution of higher education" have [has] the
meanings [meaning] assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(8-a) "Nonprofit research entity" means a research
entity that is a nonprofit corporation, nonprofit association, or
other entity that is organized solely for one or more of the
purposes specified by Section 2.002, Business Organizations Code.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 122, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Section 122.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.005. HEMP RESEARCH PERMIT. (a) The department
shall issue a hemp research permit to an institution of higher
education, private or independent institution of higher education,
or nonprofit research entity in this state that requests the
permit. The entity must submit to the department a fee in an amount
equal to the application fee for a license, as provided by Section
122.052.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or
department rule other than Subsection (c), a hemp research permit
holder:
(1) is not required to obtain from the department a lot
crop permit or other permit for each location where hemp is grown;
(2) is not required to obtain preharvest testing under
Section 122.153 before harvesting plants, except as provided by
Subsection (c);
(3) may cultivate and handle varieties of hemp seed
and plants that are not certified or approved under Section
122.252;
(4) may collect and research feral hemp; and
(5) is not subject to Section 122.403(c) or (d).
(c) A hemp research permit holder may only sell or transfer
hemp to another person if the variety of the hemp is certified or
approved under Section 122.252 and the sale or transfer occurs at
least six months after the hemp is harvested.
(d) A hemp research permit holder may conduct research
involving hemp in conjunction with a license holder at a facility
designated by the license holder for research use only.
(e) Subsections (b) and (c) apply to a license holder and
facility described by Subsection (d).
SECTION 5. Section 122.051, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) Not later than the 90th day after the date a change to
this chapter, a federal statute, or a federal regulation takes
effect, the department shall propose any rules necessary to
incorporate and implement the change.
(d) This chapter, Chapter 121, and any rule adopted by the
department to incorporate or implement a federal statute or federal
regulation may not be construed in a manner that is inconsistent
with 7 U.S.C. Chapter 38, Subchapter VII, or any other applicable
federal law or rule.
SECTION 6. Section 122.055, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) The department by rule may adopt a different shipping
certificate, cargo manifest, or other requirement for the shipment
or transportation of a sample of hemp to:
(1) a testing laboratory; or
(2) another destination if the sample contains not
more than an amount of hemp as determined by the department by rule
and is accompanied by the results of a laboratory test indicating
the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of the lot or plot
from which the sample was taken.
SECTION 7. Section 122.102, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 122.102. LICENSE AND HEMP RESEARCH PERMIT
INELIGIBILITY. (a) An individual who is or has been convicted of a
felony relating to a controlled substance under federal law or the
law of any state may not, before the 10th anniversary of the date of
the conviction:
(1) hold a license under this subchapter or a hemp
research permit under Subchapter A; or
(2) be a governing person of a business entity or
nonprofit research entity that holds a license under this
subchapter or a hemp research permit under Subchapter A.
(b) The department may not issue a license under this
subchapter or a hemp research permit under Subchapter A to a person
who materially falsifies any information contained in an
application submitted to the department under Section 122.005 or
122.103.
SECTION 8. Section 122.151, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A laboratory that performs testing required by this
chapter shall report the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol
concentration, the total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration, and
the concentration of any other cannabinoid federally regulated
under 7 U.S.C. Chapter 38, Subchapter VII, of the sample on a dry
weight basis and the measurement of uncertainty in the test result.
The measurement of uncertainty must comply with International
Organization for Standardization ISO/IEC 17025 or a comparable or
successor standard and any provisions of federal law governing the
measurement of uncertainty.
SECTION 9. Subchapter E, Chapter 122, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Section 122.203 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.203. HARVEST WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED.
(a) A person whose license is suspended or revoked after planting
hemp plants may obtain preharvest or postharvest testing under
Subchapter D and may harvest the plants under Section 122.201 in the
same manner as a license holder.
(b) The department by rule shall establish fair and
objective standards for determining whether a person whose license
is suspended or revoked may use or sell plants harvested under
Subsection (a), based on the circumstances of the suspension or
revocation. Based on those rules, the department may prohibit a
person from selling or using plants harvested under Subsection (a)
while the person's license is suspended or revoked.
(c) A person whose license is reinstated may sell or use
plants harvested under Subsection (a) as provided by Section
122.202.
SECTION 10. The heading to Subchapter F, Chapter 122,
Agriculture Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. HEMP SEED AND PLANTS
SECTION 11. Section 122.252, Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 122.252. CERTIFICATION OR APPROVAL OF SEED AND PLANT
VARIETIES. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the [The] department or
an entity authorized to certify seed and plants under Chapter 62
shall identify and certify or approve varieties of seed and plants
confirmed to produce hemp.
(b) The department or entity may not certify or approve a
variety of hemp seed or plant if the variety [seed] is tested and
confirmed to produce a plant that has delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol
concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. For
purposes of this subsection, the department may partner with a
private entity or an institution of higher education to test seed
and plant varieties for the purpose of certification or approval
under this section.
(c) The department may authorize the importation of hemp
seed and plant varieties certified in accordance with the law of
another state or jurisdiction that requires as a condition of
certification that hemp be produced in compliance with:
(1) that state or jurisdiction's plan approved by the
United States Department of Agriculture under 7 U.S.C. Section
1639p; or
(2) a plan established under 7 U.S.C. Section 1639q if
that plan applies in the state or jurisdiction.
(d) The department shall maintain and make available to
license holders a list of hemp seed and plant varieties [seeds]
certified or approved under this section.
SECTION 12. Subchapter F, Chapter 122, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Section 122.254 to read as follows:
Sec. 122.254. SEEDLINGS AND OTHER IMMATURE PLANTS. (a) A
person may transport into this state, and a license holder may
obtain and cultivate, immature plants propagated outside this state
if the plants are accompanied by shipping documentation that:
(1) complies with any requirements of the state of
origin;
(2) indicates the grower of the immature plants is
licensed by the state of origin;
(3) lists the recipient license holder in this state
and the recipient's license number; and
(4) shows that the variety of the immature plants is
certified or approved under Section 122.252.
(b) A license holder may obtain and cultivate immature
plants propagated in this state by another license holder if the
plants are accompanied by the shipping certificate or cargo
manifest required by Section 122.055 that shows that the variety of
the immature plants is certified or approved under Section 122.252.
The immature plants are not subject to preharvest testing under
Section 122.153. The license holder shall maintain records, as
required by the department, that match the lot crop permit number
issued by the department for the location where the immature plants
were propagated with the lot crop number for the location where the
plants were cultivated.
(c) A license holder may transplant immature plants
propagated by the license holder from one plot to another plot
controlled by the license holder. The department by rule shall
waive the requirement that a license holder obtain a lot crop permit
for and may not require a license holder to pay any fee for a
greenhouse or other location used to propagate immature plants if
the plants are transplanted to another plot controlled by the
license holder and are not sold or transferred to another person.
The department by rule may waive the requirement that a person
obtain a shipping certificate or cargo manifest to transplant
immature plants from one plot to another plot operated by the
license holder.
(d) The department by rule shall define "immature plant."
SECTION 13. Section 122.403, Agriculture Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) If the department determines that a license holder
negligently violated this chapter or a rule adopted under this
chapter, the department shall enforce the violation in the manner
provided by 7 U.S.C. Section 1639p(e) and 7 C.F.R. Section 990.6.
(e) A license holder is not subject to more than one
negligent violation related to cultivation per calendar year.
SECTION 14. Subchapter I, Chapter 122, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Sections 122.4034 and 122.4035 to read as
follows:
Sec. 122.4034. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY FOR CULTIVATING HEMP
WITHOUT A LICENSE. On determining that a person violated Section
122.101, the department may:
(1) issue a written warning to the person;
(2) impose an administrative penalty in the amount of
$500; and
(3) require the person to obtain a license.
Sec. 122.4035. PENALTY FOR CULTIVATING HEMP WITHOUT A
LICENSE; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if the
person:
(1) violates Section 122.101; and
(2) has received an administrative penalty under
Section 122.4034 for a previous violation of Section 122.101.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor,
except that the offense is:
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial
of the offense that the person has previously been convicted one
time of an offense under this section; and
(2) a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial
of the offense that the person has previously been convicted two or
more times of an offense under this section.
SECTION 15. Section 122.403, Agriculture Code, as amended
by this Act, and Sections 122.4034 and 122.4035, Agriculture Code,
as added by this Act, apply only to conduct that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurred before that
date is governed by the law in effect when the conduct occurred, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.