US Hemp Roundtable: Updates in Seven States: Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, and Texas
Updates in Seven States:
Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, and Texas
Take Action Now: Use our State Action Center to contact lawmakers and protect the future of hemp in your state.
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In Alabama, HB 445 was passed by the legislature on May 6 and is awaiting Governor Ivey’s signature. If the governor does not act by May 13, the bill will become law and becomes effective on July 1, 2025. The legislation bans smokeable hemp and prohibits online and direct-to-consumer sales of hemp products. In addition, a 10% excise tax on hemp products will be levied. Consumable hemp products will be limited to no more than 10mg total THC per serving in individually-wrapped servings with a limit of 40mg total THC per package. This bill will be deeply detrimental to small businesses in Alabama. Please use our State Action Center to urge Governor Ivey to veto this bill.
California’s SB 378 was introduced to respond to the online sale of cannabis and hemp products that are not compliant with California law. This bill would ban virtually all hemp products from sale direct-to-consumer (DTC), a lifeline for millions of Californians who rely on these products for their health and wellness. Indeed, it likely violates the United States Constitution. This is yet another step that the state is taking to continue to dismantle the hemp industry, resulting in thousands of lost jobs and tens of millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. Please use our State Action Center to urge the legislature bill.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously on April 25. It will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 12. It will have substantial cost to the state for its implementation, which means it will be referred to the committee’s Suspense File where it will sit until the committee acts on all bills with cost the day before Memorial Day weekend.
In Massachusetts, support for the Commonwealth Beverage Coalition’s efforts to legalize hemp-derived THC-infused beverages through the three-tiered alcohol system continues to grow. Efforts are focused on targeting the Legislature’s publicly stated intent to review and update Massachusetts’ cannabis law as a possible vehicle for the legalization of hemp-derived THC-infused beverages. The Legislature’s consumer protection committee is scheduled to hear HB 367 and SB 222 on Monday, May 12. The outlook in Massachusetts continues to be positive.
Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, which is part of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs department, has proposed new rules for CBD and industrial hemp products. The new rules would limit THC in industrial hemp products to no more than 1.75mg per serving and 10mg per package. Additionally, the proposed rule would not permit THC levels in industrial hemp products to exceed 1/15th of the amount of CBD that is in the industrial hemp product. Please use our State Action Center to urge the agency to change the rule as currently written.
Minnesota’s SF 2370 has cleared the House and Senate and a conference committee will be held to hash out differences in policy between the chambers. The amendments added in the House are technical in nature to bolster the roll out of the Office of Cannabis Management, which is established in the bill. This bill also sets new limits on delta-9 THC in edible products at 0.3 percent. Ingestible hemp products, excluding beverages, that contain multiple servings must indicate a serving by scoring, wrapping, or other indicators designating the individual serving size. If it is not possible to indicate each serving size on the product, then the product may not be packaged in a manner that includes more than a single serving in each container.
In Montana, SB 375 is heading to Governor Gianforte’s desk after passing through the legislature. This bill would ban the sale of hemp products that contain THC and would become effective immediately upon approval by the governor. Please use our State Action Center to urge Governor Gianforte to veto this bill.
The substitute version of Texas’ SB 3 passed committee this week and is now 147 pages of bad language for the hemp industry. Although there is some indication that the Governor and Speaker would prefer a regulatory bill vs a ban, the state agenda on bail reform, property tax relief, border security and restrictions on foreign owned lands, has voters more energized than the threat to the hemp industry. If Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick uses those issues to threaten legislators, then hemp loses. It is imperative that hemp supporters use our State Action Center to urge legislators to oppose this bill.
