A2415

An Act concerning the production of industrial hemp and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act, “industrial hemp” means any variety of Cannabis sativa L. with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3% or less on a dry weight basis, and that is grown or possessed by a hemp producer licensed pursuant to section 3 of this act.

2. Notwithstanding any other law, or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary, a person licensed pursuant to section 3 of this act may plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell and buy industrial hemp.

3. a. A person seeking to grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes shall apply to the Secretary of Agriculture for an industrial hemp license as provided for in this section. The application shall include the name and address of the applicant, and documentation and the legal description of the land area to be used for the growing and production of industrial hemp, including a map, aerial photograph of the land area, or global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating the production fields.

b. Except for employees of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station or Cook College at Rutgers, The State University, a person making an application pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall also submit the first time such an application is made, a set of the applicant’s fingerprints to be taken by a law enforcement officer in the manner prescribed in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 7 of this act, and any other information necessary to complete a nationwide and Statewide criminal history and background check by the Department of Law and Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All costs associated with this criminal history and background check shall be the responsibility of the applicant and shall be paid at the time that the fingerprints are taken by the law enforcement officer.

c. The criminal history, background check, and other information collected pursuant to subsections a. and b. of this section shall be confidential, and may only be used in determining an applicant’s eligibility for an industrial hemp license. No person with a prior criminal conviction shall be eligible for an industrial hemp license.

d. Upon review of the submitted application and the documentation and other information obtained pursuant to subsection a. and b. of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall approve or disapprove issuing the applicant an industrial hemp license. Prior to approving or disapproving a first-time applicant, the Secretary of Agriculture shall forward the submitted application and the documentation and other information obtained pursuant to subsection a. and b. of this section to the Department of Law and Public Safety and request a determination from that department concerning the applicant’s eligibility for the industrial hemp license in terms of law and public safety considerations. Subsequent applications from the same applicant shall be reviewed by the Secretary of Agriculture for approval or disapproval, and copies of approved applications shall be forwarded to the Department of Law and Public Safety. Records of all applications shall be maintained by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Law and Public Safety.

e. Upon approving an application for an industrial hemp license, the Secretary of Agriculture shall notify the applicant of the approval. Upon notification by the Attorney General pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of this act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall request payment from the applicant of the license fee established pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection a. of section 6 of this act, and upon receipt thereof, shall issue to the applicant the industrial hemp license.

f. An approved industrial hemp license shall be valid only for the site or sites specified in the license application and for the period of one year from the date of issuance, unless adjusted by the Department of Agriculture to allow for the normal growing season and reasonable harvesting, processing, and sale or distribution time. The license may be renewed as provided by the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of this act.

g. The Secretary of Agriculture, at the secretary’s discretion or upon the request of the Attorney General, may, after a hearing, revoke or deny renewal of an industrial hemp license at any time that it is discovered the licensed hemp producer is guilty of wrongdoing in connection with industrial hemp production, sale or distribution, or has submitted false information or documentation pursuant to this section.

h. An applicant denied a license or license renewal, or who has a license revoked pursuant to this section, shall have the right to an administrative hearing and decision, and the matter shall be treated as a contested case, under the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

4. a. No license may be issued pursuant to section 3 of this act unless:

(1) the President of the United States and the United States Congress enact federal legislation or take other federal action to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana for the purposes of the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 United States Code, Section 802 (16); or

(2) the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States Department of Justice takes affirmative steps towards issuing a permit to industrial hemp producers in states with laws similar to this act, under Chapter 13 of Title 21 of the United States Code or other appropriate federal authority.

b. The Attorney General shall notify the Secretary of Agriculture when the requirements of either paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection a. of this section have been met.

5. Annually, at the time required under the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to section 6 of this act, each licensed hemp producer shall file with the Secretary of Agriculture documentation indicating that the seeds planted were a type and variety of hemp approved by the secretary as having a concentration of no more than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol by dry weight and a copy of any contract entered into by the licensed hemp producer to grow industrial hemp. At the conclusion of the licensing period, the licensed hemp producer shall notify the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General of the sale or distribution of industrial hemp grown by the licensed hemp producer and the name and address of each person to whom the industrial hemp was sold or distributed during the licensing period.

6. a. In consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations providing for the administrative and enforcement responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture pursuant to this act, including, but not necessarily limited to:

(1) the establishment of approved varieties of industrial hemp;

(2) protocols for testing plant parts during growth for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol;

(3) guidelines for monitoring the growth and harvest of industrial hemp;

(4) licensing and other fees collected pursuant to subsection e. of section 3 of this act or any other provision of this act;

(5) other application requirements, licensing renewal procedures, and provisions for adjusting the licensing term dates pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of this act; and

(6) any other issues required to implement this act.

b. The Secretary of Agriculture may defer to the Attorney General rulemaking on any of the issues enumerated above if they determine in the interest of public safety, that the issue is better addressed by the Department of Law and Public Safety than by the Department of Agriculture.

7. In consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Attorney General shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations providing for the taking of fingerprints and the other procedures and documentation required pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act, and any other provisions necessary for the implementation of this act.

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes an industrial hemp license for planting, growing, harvesting, possessing, processing, selling and buying industrial hemp. The bill provides specific application procedures and requirements, including fingerprinting and criminal background checks for license applicants.

The bill also specifies that no license may be issued unless:

1) The President of the United States and the United States Congress enact federal legislation or take other federal action to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana for the purposes of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 United States Code, Section 802 (16); or

2) the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States Department of Justice takes affirmative steps towards issuing a permit under 21 United States Code, Chapter 13, Subchapter 1, Part C to industrial hemp producers in states with laws similar to this bill.

The Attorney General is charged with notifying the Secretary of Agriculture when either of these requirements is met.

Finally, the bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to adopt rules and regulations for the bill’s implementation and to defer any rulemaking issues to the Attorney General that are better addressed for the public’s safety by the Department of Law and Public Safety, and it authorizes the Attorney General to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the bill.