HF 2070 (LSB 5206YH (2) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2070

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to acreage limitations for the production of hemp, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 204.2, subsection 5, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  “Crop site” or “site” means a single contiguous parcel of agricultural land suitable for the planting, growing, or harvesting of hemp, if the parcel does not exceed forty acres.
    Sec. 2.  Section 204.4, subsection 6, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  A person may hold any number of licenses at the same time. However, the 
   a.  Except as provided in paragraph “b”, a person shall not hold a legal or equitable interest in a licensed crop site, if the total number of acres of all licensed crop sites in which the person holds all such interests equals more than forty acres.
   b.  The department may waive the prohibition described in paragraph “a” if it determines when reviewing the person’s license application that all of the following apply:
   (1)  The person has entered into a contract for the sale of at least ninety percent of the hemp expected to be harvested on the crop site as described in the application.
   (2)  Any harvested hemp sold pursuant to the contract provided in subparagraph (1) is used as follows:
   (a)  For fiber or grain.
   (b)  To produce seeds, if such seeds are used for planting and any harvested hemp is used for seed production, fiber, or grain. 
   c.  The department may require that a person applying for a license provide any supporting materials as required by the department to approve the application.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   ACREAGE LIMITATION —— EXCEPTION. This bill amends Code chapter 204, the Iowa Hemp Act (IHA) (Code section 204.1), which in part requires the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) to regulate the production of hemp. Hemp is defined as a species of cannabis (sativa L.) having a maximum concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol that does not exceed three-tenths of 1 percent on a dry weight basis (Code section 204.2). DALS is required to establish and administer a process to issue and renew one-year hemp licenses to qualified producers (Code section 204.4). DALS may issue any number of licenses to a qualified producer so long as all licensed crop sites do not exceed a total of 40 acres. The bill allows DALS to waive this limitation on acres reserved for production if, at the time of application, it determines that the applicant has entered into a contract for the sale of at least 90 percent of the hemp expected to be harvested at the applicant’s crop site. In addition, the harvested hemp sold pursuant to the contract must be used for: (1) grain or fiber, or (2) seed to grow hemp for seed production, grain, or fiber. DALS may require that the applicant provide any supporting materials necessary to approve the application.
   BACKGROUND. The IHA must comply with the relevant sections of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-334, that allows states and tribes to assume primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp by submitting a plan for approval by the United States department of agriculture (USDA). Effective April 8, 2020, the secretary of agriculture published an advisory notice that the state plan for the production of hemp was certified by the USDA in IAB Vol. XLII, No. 21 (4/8/20), p. 2630. 
   EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment.