Bills introduced in both the Senate and House could delay harmful impacts to the state’s hemp industry.
Senators Klobuchar (D-MN), Merkley (D-OR), and Paul (R-KY) filed a bill in the House today that would delay implementation of a new federal law significantly restricting hemp products.
Indiana Congressman Jim Baird introduced a similar bill earlier this week in the Senate.
In November of last year, the bill that reopened the federal government also closed a legal loophole allowing intoxicating hemp products, a $1 billion industry in Indiana.
Baird’s Hemp Planting Predictability Act would provide a two-year delay on implementation of a strict definition of hemp, with a start date of November 2028.
“Planting and growing crops requires planning well in advance,” Baird said in a press release. “Congress should not have passed such a sweeping policy change that upends a growing industry. Instead, Congress should have given farmers more time, creating a more stable environment for farmers to modify their future planting decisions.”
Fifteen other members of Congress signed on as co-authors to the bill.
Justin Swanson, President of the Midwest Hemp Council, said the extension could open the door to less harsh regulations on the industry.
“It gives certainty to farmers to plant this year, to continue to build the marketplace in that sense, and then also gives Congress more time to work with the industry and other stakeholders to develop sensible regulations,” he said.
Supporters of the bill hope to attach it to a larger piece of legislation and pass it within a few weeks.
