WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 244

By Senators Baldwin, Beach, Jeffries, Lindsay, Woelfel, Romano, and Facemire

[Introduced January 9, 2020; referred
to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §19-12E-3 and §19-12E-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §19-12E-12, all relating to modifying the Industrial Hemp Development Act; conforming the definition of “hemp” to federal law; clarifying the authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture related to testing; authorizing independent laboratories certified by the commissioner to test hemp produced by a licensee; and requiring the commissioner to propose emergency rules.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 12E. INDUSTRIAL HEMP DEVELOPMENT ACT.

§19-12E-3. Definitions.

As used in this article:

(a) “Cannabidiol” or “CBD” means the compound by the same name derived from the hemp variety of the cannabis sativa L. plant;

(b) “Commercial sales” means the sale of products in the stream of commerce, at retail, wholesale, and online;

(c) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture or his or her designee;

(d) “Cultivating” means planting, watering, growing, and harvesting a plant or crop;

(e) “Department” means the West Virginia Department of Agriculture and its employees;

(f) “Handling” means possessing or storing hemp plants for any period of time on premises owned, operated, or controlled by a person licensed to cultivate or process hemp. “Handling” also includes possessing or storing hemp plants in a vehicle for any period of time other than during its actual transport from the premises of one licensed person to cultivate or process industrial hemp to the premises of another licensed person. “Handling” does not mean possessing or storing finished hemp products;

(g) “Hemp” or “industrial hemp” means all parts and varieties of the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, including the seeds of the plant and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not with no greater than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, or the a THC concentration for hemp defined in 7 U.S.C. § 5940, whichever is greater that is no greater than allowed by federal law;

(h) “Hemp products” means all products derived from, or made by, processing hemp plants or plant parts, that are prepared in a form available for commercial sale;

(i) “Licensee” means an individual or business entity possessing a license issued by the Department to grow, handle, cultivate, or process hemp;

(j) “Marijuana” means all plant material from the genus cannabis containing more than one percent tetrahydrocannabinol or seeds of the genus capable of germination;

(k) “Processing” means converting an agricultural commodity into a marketable form; and

(l) “THC” means tetrahydrocannabinol. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the THC found in industrial hemp shall not be considered to be THC for the purposes of qualifying as a controlled substance.

§19-12E-7. Rule-making authority.

(a) The commissioner shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code that include, but are not limited to:

(1) Licensing persons who wish to grow, cultivate, handle, or process industrial hemp;

(2) Sampling and testing of the industrial hemp to determine tetrahydrocannabinol levels, conducted using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable method, including the manner in which testing results are reported;

(3) Supervision of the industrial hemp during its growth and harvest;

(4) Certification of independent laboratories to test industrial hemp to determine tetrahydrocannabinol levels;

(4) (5) Assessment of fees that are commensurate with the costs of the commissioner’s activities in licensing, certification of laboratories, testing, and supervising industrial hemp production;

(5) (6) The production and sale of industrial hemp;

(6) (7) The production, sale, possession, handling, or transport of hemp products and extracts, including those containing one or more hemp-derived cannabinoids, including CBD; and

(7) (8) Any other rules and procedures necessary to carry out the purposes of this article.

(b) The commissioner shall propose emergency legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement amendments to this article enacted during the 2020 regular session of the Legislature.

§19-12E-12. Testing of industrial hemp.

(a) Industrial hemp produced pursuant to this article is subject to testing at harvest in accordance with procedures established by the commissioner pursuant to §19-12E-7 of this code.

(b) A licensee shall contract with an independent laboratory certified by the commissioner to test hemp produced by the licensee.

(c) A laboratory providing testing pursuant to this article must be certified by the commissioner.

(d) The possession of hemp by a certified laboratory for the purpose of testing pursuant to this article is lawful.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to modify the Industrial Hemp Development Act by: (1) Conforming the definition of hemp to federal law; (2) clarifying the authority of the Commissioner of Agriculture related to testing; (3) authorizing independent laboratories certified by the commissioner to test hemp produced by a licensee; and (4) requiring the commissioner to propose emergency rules.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.