South Dakota lawmakers file legislation to legalize industrial hemp

After months of discussion, the industrial hemp bill is officially on the Legislature's docket for the 2020 session.

House Majority Leader Lee Qualm, R-Platte, filed the industrial hemp bill, House Bill 1008, to legalize industrial hemp in South Dakota on Thursday. Sen. Josh Klumb, R-Mount Vernon, is the prime sponsor of the bill in the Senate. Eight legislators had signed on as co-sponsors of the bill as of Friday morning, all of whom were members of the legislative Industrial Hemp Committee last year.

HB 1008 includes an emergency clause that would make it effective immediately if it's signed into law, rather than waiting until the usual July 1 start date for state laws. The legislation also requires the South Dakota Department of Agriculture to submit a hemp program plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval within 30 days of the bill being signed into law.

Gov. Kristi Noem announced on Thursday morning that she would consider signing the industrial hemp bill if it includes four regulations: reliable enforcement, responsible regulation, safe transportation and adequate funding.

"Everyone knows I don't think it's a good idea," Noem said on Thursday. However, circumstances surrounding hemp have changed since she vetoed the industrial hemp bill in 2019 and legislators did "great work" in studying the issue last year, she said.

Qualm told the Argus Leader in December that he wants to have the industrial hemp bill move quickly through the legislative process rather than let it sit until the end of session. Noem also said on Thursday that she wants the bill to be completed in the first few weeks of session.

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The legislation clarifies that industrial hemp isn't included in state law's definition of marijuana and it defines industrial hemp as a cannabis plant that doesn't have a THC level of more than 0.3 percent, which is the chemical responsible for the high. 

The bill allows Department of Agriculture staff to enter any land or area where hemp is grown, stored or produced for inspections, sample collection, tests or investigations. Any hemp plant found to be in violation will be confiscated and disposed, at the cost of the producer.

A license from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture is required to grow or produce industrial hemp and someone found with hemp without a license could be found guilty of a Class 4 felony. The license is valid for 15 months and the license fee shouldn't exceed $350. Any violation of the state's industrial hemp law would result in a suspended license, according to the bill.

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A background check is required to receive a license from the state Department of Agriculture.

The bill mandates that the hemp crop must be grown on a minimum of 5 contiguous acres. Documentation about the seeds' THC level must be submitted to the state Department of Agriculture within 30 days of planting.

The bill would also create a state fund to collect license and inspection fees paid to the state that will then be used to pay for the state's costs associated with the hemp program.

It also directs the state Department of Agriculture to create rules regulating the transportation of hemp and establish an inspection fee of $250. Law enforcement will be allowed to stop any vehicle transporting hemp to inspect the driver's paperwork and hemp load. Transporting hemp in South Dakota without a state or federal license would be a Class 2 misdemeanor.