Industrial hemp.

Existing law makes it a crime to engage in any of various transactions relating to marijuana, as defined, except as otherwise authorized by law, such as pursuant to the Medical Marijuana Program. For purposes of the provisions defining criminal conduct, marijuana is defined as not including the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks, except the resin extracted therefrom, and fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination. This bill, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, would revise the definition of "marijuana" so that the term would exclude industrial hemp, as defined, except where the plant is cultivated or processed for purposes not expressly allowed. The bill would define industrial hemp as a fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that is limited to the nonpsychoactive types of the plant Cannabis sativa L. and the seed produced therefrom, having no more than 310 of 1% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) contained in the dried flowering tops, and that is cultivated and processed exclusively for the purpose of producing the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks, except the resin or flowering tops extracted therefrom, fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed, or any component of the seed, of the plant that is incapable of germination. The bill would enact provisions relating to growing industrial hemp that would impose specified procedures and requirements on a person who grows industrial hemp, except as specified, that would become operative when authorized under federal law. The bill would require, except as specified, that industrial hemp be grown only if it is on the list of approved seed cultivars and would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to determine the methodology and procedure by which the list of approved seed cultivars may be amended, as specified. The bill would require a grower of industrial hemp, as specified, and a seed breeder, as defined, to register, and to renew that registration every 2 years, with the county agricultural commissioner and to pay a registration or renewal fee, as determined by the Department of Food and Agriculture. The bill would require the fees collected pursuant to these provisions to be deposited into the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, to be continuously appropriated to cover the actual costs of implementing, administering, and enforcing these provisions. By establishing a new source of revenue for a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require a registrant growing industrial hemp to obtain, before the harvest of each crop, a laboratory test of a random sample of the crop to determine the amount of THC in the crop. The bill would require the laboratory test report to be issued by a laboratory registered by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and would require the registrant growing industrial hemp to make the report available to law enforcement officials and specified other persons. The bill would require all industrial hemp seed sold for planting in California to be from a crop having no more than 310 of 1% THC contained in a random sampling of the dried flowering tops and tested under these provisions, and would require the destruction of crops exceeding that content, as specified. The bill would prohibit certain other conduct, including, among other things, the possession, outside of a field of lawful cultivation, of resin, flowering tops, or leaves that have been removed from the hemp plant, and the pruning and tending of individual industrial hemp plants, except as specified. The bill would require the Attorney General and the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board to submit reports to the Legislature by January 1, 2019, or 5 years after the provisions of this act are authorized under federal law, whichever is later, regarding the economic and law enforcement impacts of industrial hemp cultivation. The bill would establish the Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, with a prescribed membership, and would authorize the board to advise the Secretary of Food and Agriculture on matters pertaining to these provisions. The bill would state the findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to industrial hemp, and would make nonsubstantive changes. By revising the scope of application of existing crimes relating to marijuana, this bill would impose a state‑mandated local program. By specifying the conditions of cultivation, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor pursuant to other provisions of existing law, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would provide that the provisions of this act would not become operative unless authorized under federal law and, if the provisions become operative, would require the Attorney General to issue an opinion regarding that authorization, as specified, and to post the opinion on the office of the Attorney General's Internet Web site.