Regulate Hemp and Extracts

Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 505 of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 524 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:

1. "Industrial hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

§ 2. Section 506 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended by section 1 of part OO of chapter 58 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:

§ 506. Growth, sale, distribution, transportation and processing of industrial hemp and products derived from such hemp permitted. [Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, industrial] 1. Industrial hemp and products derived from such hemp are agricultural products which may be grown, produced [and], possessed [in the state, and], sold, distributed, transported [or] and/or processed [either] in [or out of] state [as part of agricultural pilot programs pursuant to authorization under federal law and the provisions of this article] pursuant to

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD11646-09-9

A. 7680--A 2

authorization under federal law and/or the provisions of this article. [Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary restricting the growing or cultivating, sale, distribution, transportation or processing of industrial hemp and products derived from such hemp, and subject to authorization under federal law, the]

2. The commissioner may authorize the growing or cultivating of industrial hemp as part of agricultural pilot programs conducted by the department and/or an institution of higher education to study the growth and cultivation, sale, distribution, transportation and processing of such hemp and products derived from such hemp provided that the sites and programs used for growing or cultivating industrial hemp are certified by, and registered with, the department.

3. The industrial hemp used for research pursuant to this section shall be sourced from authorized New York state industrial hemp producers. The research partner may obtain an exemption for only grain or fiber from this requirement upon a satisfactory showing to the department that a suitable variety of industrial hemp for the research project is not grown in New York and/or the use of New York sourced hemp is not practicable for the project. Hemp for extracts can only be sourced from authorized New York state industrial hemp producers.

4. Nothing in this section shall limit the jurisdiction of the department under any other article of this chapter.

§ 3. Section 507 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 507 is added to read as follows:

§ 507. Licensing; fees. 1. No person shall grow, process, produce, distribute and/or sell industrial hemp or products derived from industrial hemp in the state unless (a) licensed biennially by the commissioner or (b) authorized by the commissioner as part of an agricultural research pilot program established under this article.

2. Application for a license to grow industrial hemp shall be made upon a form prescribed by the commissioner, accompanied by a per-acre license fee and a non-refundable application fee of five hundred dollars.

3. The applicant shall furnish evidence of his or her good character, experience and competency, that the applicant has adequate facilities, equipment, process controls, testing capability and security to grow hemp.

4. Growers who intend to cultivate hemp for cannabinoids shall be required to obtain licensure from the department pursuant to article twenty-nine-A of this chapter.

5. A renewal application shall be submitted to the commissioner at least sixty days prior to the commencement of the next license period.

§ 4. Section 508 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 508 is added to read as follows:

§ 508. Compliance action plan. If the commissioner determines, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, that a licensee has negligently violated a provision of and/or a regulation promulgated pursuant to this article, that licensee shall be required to comply with a corrective action plan established by the commissioner to correct the violation by a reasonable date and to periodically report to the commissioner with respect to the licensee's compliance with this article for a period of no less than the next two calendar years following the commencement date of the compliance action plan. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to research partners conducting hemp research pursuant to a research partner agreement, the terms of which shall control.

A. 7680--A 3

§ 5. Section 509 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 509 is added to read as follows:

§ 509. Granting, suspending or revoking licenses. The commissioner may decline to grant a new license, may decline to renew a license, may suspend or revoke a license already granted after due notice and opportunity for hearing whenever he or she finds that:

1. any statement contained in an application for an applicant or licensee is or was false or misleading;

2. the applicant or licensee does not have good character, the required experience and/or competency, adequate facilities, equipment, process controls, testing capability and/or security to produce hemp or products derived from hemp;

3. the applicant or licensee has failed or refused to produce any records or provide any information demanded by the commissioner reasonably related to the administration and enforcement of this article; or

4. the applicant or licensee, or any officer, director, partner, holder of ten percent of the voting stock, or any other person exercising any position of management or control has failed to comply with any of the provisions of this article or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.

§ 6. Section 510 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 510 is added to read as follows:

§ 510. Regulations. The commissioner may develop regulations consistent with the provisions of this article for the growing and cultivation, sale, distribution, and transportation of industrial hemp grown in the state, including:

1. the authorization or licensing of any person who may: acquire or possess industrial hemp plants or seeds; grow or cultivate industrial hemp plants; and/or sell, purchase, distribute, or transport such industrial hemp plants, plant parts, or seeds;

2. maintaining relevant information regarding land on which industrial hemp is produced within the state, including the legal description of the land, for a period of not less than three calendar years;

3. the procedure for testing of industrial hemp produced in the state for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol levels, using a representative non-decarboxylated sample of flowers and leaves from the whole plant or other similarly reliable methods;

4. the procedure for effective disposal of industrial hemp plants or products derived from hemp that are produced in violation of this article;

5. a procedure for conducting at least a random sample of industrial hemp producers to verify that hemp is not produced in violation of this article;

6. any required security measures; and

7. such other and further regulation as the commissioner deems appropriate or necessary.

§ 7. Section 511 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 511 is added to read as follows:

§ 511. Prohibitions. Except as authorized by state law, and regulations promulgated thereunder, the growth, cultivation, processing, sale, and/or distribution of industrial hemp is prohibited.

§ 8. Section 512 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 512 is added to read as follows:

§ 512. Industrial hemp data collection and best farming practices. The commissioner shall have the power to collect and publish data and research concerning, among other things, the growth, cultivation,

A. 7680--A 4

production and processing methods of industrial hemp and products derived from industrial hemp and work with the New York state college of agriculture and life science at Cornell pursuant to section fifty-seven hundred twelve of the education law and the Cornell cooperative extension pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four of the county law to promote best farming practices for industrial hemp which are compatible with state water quality and other environmental objectives.

§ 9. Sections 513 and 514 of the agriculture and markets law are REPEALED and two new sections 513 and 514 are added to read as follows:

§ 513. Access to criminal history information through the division of criminal justice services. In connection with the administration of this article, the commissioner is authorized to request, receive and review criminal history information through the division of criminal justice services (division) with respect to any person seeking a license or authorization to undertake a hemp pilot project. At the commissioner's request, each researcher, principal and/or officer of the applicant shall submit to the department his or her fingerprints in such form and in such manner as specified by the division, for the purpose of conducting a criminal history search and returning a report thereon in accordance with the procedures and requirements established by the division pursuant to the provisions of article thirty-five of the executive law, which shall include the payment of the prescribed processing fees for the cost of the division's full search and retain procedures and a national criminal history record check. The commissioner, or his or her designee, shall submit such fingerprints and the processing fee to the division. The division shall forward to the commissioner a report with respect to the applicant's previous criminal history, if any, or a statement that the applicant has no previous criminal history according to its files. Fingerprints submitted to the division of criminal justice services pursuant to this section may also be submitted to the federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record check. If additional copies of fingerprints are required, the applicant shall furnish them upon request.

§ 514. Aids to enforcement. 1. The commissioner shall have full access to all premises, buildings, factories, farms, vehicles, cars, boats, airplanes, vessels, containers, packages, barrels, boxes, and/or cans for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article. The commissioner may, at such locations, examine industrial hemp and hemp products and may open any package and/or container reasonably believed to contain industrial hemp or hemp products, to determine whether such industrial hemp or hemp products follow applicable law or regulation.

2. A search warrant shall be issued by any court to which application is made therefor, whenever it shall be made to appear to such court that a licensee has: refused to permit any industrial hemp to be inspected or samples taken therefrom; refused to permit access to any premises, or place where licensed activities are conducted; and/or refused or prevented access thereto by any inspector of the department and that such inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that such person has any industrial hemp in his or her possession, or under his or her control and/or is in violation of the provisions or regulations of this article. In such a case, a warrant shall be issued in the name of the people, directed to a police officer, commanding him or her to: (a) search any place of business, factory, building, premises, or farm where licensed activities have occurred and any vehicle, boat, vessel, container, package, barrel, box, tub or can, containing, or believed to contain industrial hemp in the possession or under the control of any

A. 7680--A 5

person who shall refuse to allow access to such hemp for inspection or sampling, (b) permit the inspection and sampling of any industrial hemp found in the execution of the warrant, as the officer applying for the search warrant shall designate when the same is found, by an inspector or a department official authorized by the commissioner or by this chapter, and/or (c) permit access to any place where access is refused or prevented, and to allow and enable a department inspector or other department official to conduct an inspection of the place. The provisions of article six hundred ninety of the criminal procedure law shall apply to such warrant as far as applicable thereto. The officer to whom the warrant is delivered shall make a return in writing of his or her proceedings thereunto to the court which issued the same.