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2020 SESSION

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20100904D
HOUSE BILL NO. 943 Offered January 8, 2020 Prefiled January 7, 2020 A BILL to amend and reenact § 3.2-4114.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to industrial hemp; testing industrial hemp grown. ---------- Patrons-- Marshall and Edmunds ---------- Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 3.2-4114.2 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 3.2-4114.2. Authority of Commissioner; notice to law enforcement; report.

A. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee not to exceed $50 for any application for registration or renewal of registration allowed under this chapter. The Commissioner may charge a nonrefundable fee for the tetrahydrocannabinol testing allowed under this chapter. All fees collected by the Commissioner shall be deposited in the state treasury.

B. The Commissioner shall notify the Superintendent of State Police of the locations of all industrial hemp production fields, dealerships, and process sites.

C. The Commissioner shall forward a copy or appropriate electronic record of each registration issued by the Commissioner under this chapter to the chief law-enforcement officer of the county or city where industrial hemp will be grown, dealt, or processed.

D. The Commissioner shall be responsible for monitoring the industrial hemp grown, dealt, or processed by a person registered pursuant to subsection A of § 3.2-4115 and shall provide for random testing of the industrial hemp, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor, for compliance with tetrahydrocannabinol limits and for other appropriate purposes established pursuant to § 3.2-4114. When conducting random testing for compliance with tetrahydrocannabinol limits of industrial hemp grown by a grower, the Commissioner shall test a sample of such industrial hemp that is collected after harvesting rather than from within a production field. In addition to any routine inspection and sampling, the Commissioner may inspect and sample the industrial hemp at any production field, dealership, or process site during normal business hours without advance notice if he has reason to believe a violation of this chapter is occurring or has occurred.

E. The Commissioner may require a grower, dealer, or processor to destroy, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor and in a manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that the grower grows, in which the dealer deals, or that the processor processes that has been tested and is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law, or any Cannabis sativa product that the processor produces.

F. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E, if the provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 are included in a plan that (i) is submitted by the Department pursuant to § 10113 of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334, (ii) requires the Department to monitor and regulate the production of industrial hemp in the Commonwealth, and (iii) is approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture:

1. The Commissioner may require a grower, dealer, or processor to destroy, at the cost of the grower, dealer, or processor and in a manner approved of and verified by the Commissioner, any Cannabis sativa that the grower grows, in which the dealer deals, or that the processor processes that has been tested and is found to have a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than 0.6 percent.

2. If such a test of Cannabis sativa indicates a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than 0.6 percent but less than one percent, the Commissioner shall allow the grower, dealer, or processor to request that the Cannabis sativa be sampled and tested again before he requires its destruction.

G. The Commissioner shall advise the Attorney General of the United States and the Superintendent of State Police or the chief law-enforcement officer of the appropriate county or city when, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, a grower grows, a dealer deals in, or a processor processes any Cannabis sativa with a concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that is greater than that allowed by federal law or a processor produces a Cannabis sativa product.

H. The Commissioner may pursue any permits or waivers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or appropriate federal agency that he determines to be necessary for the advancement of the industrial hemp industry.

I. The Commissioner may establish a corrective action plan to address a negligent violation of any provision of this chapter.