PRINTER'S NO. 4200
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1134
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY J. HARRIS, OCTOBER 10, 2018
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
OCTOBER 10, 2018
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Congress of the United States to pass the language
from the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, as contained in the 2018
Farm Bill, removing industrial hemp from the Schedule I
Controlled Substance List and legalizing commercial
industrial hemp production in the United States, and urging
the Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth to conduct
a study of industrial hemp research pilot programs and
prepare recommended draft statutory and regulatory language.
WHEREAS, A bipartisan effort has taken place at both the
Federal and State levels to pass legislation which would allow
American farmers to compete with foreign nations in industrial
hemp production; and
WHEREAS, The United States relied upon hemp production from
the time period of the Mayflower voyage to the War of 1812 and
through every world war; and
WHEREAS, Hemp production in Pennsylvania has a 260-year
history due to the favorable climate and soil; and
WHEREAS, Industrial hemp plants are cultivated for products
derived from the whole plant, including stalk, seeds, flower and
roots for products, including fiber, food, oil and extracts; and
WHEREAS, Industrial hemp has thousands of applications and
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can be refined into a variety of commercial products, including
paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, cannabinoids, paint,
insulation, biofuel, food and animal feed; and
WHEREAS, Each year, American companies are forced to import
millions of dollars' worth of industrial hemp seed and fiber
products annually from China, Canada, Europe and other
countries; and
WHEREAS, Industrial hemp has often been confused with
marijuana, as it is a member of the cannabis family; however, it
has no psychoactive effect due to a very low level of
tetrahydrocannabinol; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 7 of Title 3 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes defines industrial hemp as the plant
Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant with less than
three-tenths of one percent tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as
THC; and
WHEREAS, Uncertainty about Federal laws inhibits investment
in the United States and Pennsylvania hemp industry by
agricultural producers, manufacturers, processors and other
businesses; and
WHEREAS, Section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, the
Farm Bill of 2014 and the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2016,
authorized State industrial hemp agricultural pilot research
programs and the activities associated with such programs; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth,
farmers, researchers and industry leaders recognized the
potential for opportunities in industrial hemp production and
products and in investment in Pennsylvania's industrial hemp
industry where this Commonwealth could become a national leader
to take advantage of the potential $1 billion national market
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for growing, producing, processing and selling industrial hemp
and industrial hemp products; and
WHEREAS, To this end, in 2016, the General Assembly and
Governor of the Commonwealth enacted Act 92 of 2016, which
established Chapter 7 of Title 3 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes and authorized an industrial hemp research
pilot program to commence the initial research into such
potential opportunities; and
WHEREAS, In the fall of 2018, the Congress of the United
States is poised to pass the language from the Hemp Farming Act
of 2018, as contained in the 2018 Farm Bill, which removes
industrial hemp from the Schedule I Controlled Substance List
and legalizes commercial industrial hemp production in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth is
encouraged to immediately commence a study of this
Commonwealth's industrial hemp pilot program and other
industrial hemp pilot programs in other states and their
regulations to recommend any draft statutory or draft regulatory
language to the General Assembly to expedite the entry of this
Commonwealth into the commercial industrial hemp market upon
passage of the language from the Hemp Farming Act by the
Congress of the United States; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United
States to pass the language from the Hemp Farming Act of 2018,
as contained in the Farm Bill of 2018, removing industrial hemp
from the Schedule I Controlled Substance List and legalizing
commercial industrial hemp production in the United States; and
be it further
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Department of Agriculture
of the Commonwealth to begin a study of the industrial hemp
research pilot programs established under Act 92 of 2016 and
similar research pilot programs in other states and their
regulations to prepare any recommended draft legislation for
submission to the General Assembly and a framework for any draft
regulatory provisions that incorporate the following:
(1) The growth and cultivation of industrial hemp
produced in compliance with Federal law is an agricultural
crop.
(2) The producers of industrial hemp within this
Commonwealth have access to United States-supplied seed,
germplasm, rooted cuttings and other genetics.
(3) All industrial hemp products, including genetics,
that are produced in this Commonwealth shall be able to be
freely shipped across State lines into and out of this
Commonwealth.
(4) The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth
prepares a process for institutions of higher education in
this Commonwealth to obtain approval to conduct industrial
hemp research that complies with existing law and is eligible
for Federal grant funding.
(5) The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth
prepares educational programs and materials for the education
of youth and the public on the growth, cultivation and market
potential for industrial hemp;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the Governor, the Secretary of Agriculture of the Commonwealth,
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the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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