California Hemp Bill Clears Committee On Agriculture

Senate Bill 153 (SB 153) seeks to bring California’s hemp industry regulations in line with federal requirements, according to officials. “I am very pleased to see SB 153 moving with bipartisan support,” Wilk said. “Industrial hemp is a natural fit for California’s arid climate. Farmers in the Antelope Valley will be able to save five-acre-feet of water per acre by switching to it.”Wilk previously introduced and successfully passed a similar bill in 2018, SB 1409, which also sought to streamline California’s hemp production regulations and bring them into compliance with existing federal laws.Late in 2018, Congress passed H.R. 2, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which instituted new requirements for states’ plans for the licensing and regulation of industrial hemp cultivation.