The Idaho Senate has taken up a measure to legalize hemp and to task the state Department of Agriculture with crafting a state cultivation plan eligible for federal approval. The Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday voted unanimously to print the bill, clearing the way for a full hearing. Hemp has been legal at the federal level since the passage of the December 2018 Farm Bill, and while most states have passed laws allowing for hemp cultivation, Idaho has not. A bill to legalize hemp passed the Idaho House last year but died after members of the Senate worried it could make Idaho’s marijuana laws harder to enforce. The latest measure contains an “emergency clause,” meaning it could take effect immediately and would direct the state Department of Agriculture to submit a plan for federal approval no later than June 15th, 2020. The bill also would clarify the rules for out-of-state hemp growers to transport hemp through the state. Governor Brad Little issued an executive order legalizing the transport through the state in fall 2019 but said the order was a temporary measure until the Legislature could act. (source: Post Register)
