Public Act 100-1091
 
SB2298 EnrolledLRB100 16654 SLF 31792 b

    AN ACT concerning agriculture.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Industrial Hemp Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.
    "Director" means the Director of Agriculture.
    "Industrial hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and
any part of that plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9
tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3
percent on a dry weight basis that has been cultivated under a
license issued under this Act or is otherwise lawfully present
in this State, and includes any intermediate or finished
product made or derived from industrial hemp.
    "Land area" means a farm as defined in Section 1-60 of the
Property Tax Code in this State or land or facilities under the
control of an institution of higher education.
    "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm,
corporation, company, society, association, the State or any
department, agency, or subdivision thereof, or any other
entity.
    "Process" means the conversion of raw industrial hemp plant
material into a form that is presently legal to import from
outside the United States under federal law.
    "THC" means delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol.
 
    Section 10. Licenses and registration.
    (a) Under Section 5940 of Title 7 of the United States
Code, no person shall cultivate industrial hemp in this State
without a license issued by the Department.
    (b) The application for a license shall include:
         (1) the name and address of the applicant;
         (2) the legal description of the land area, including
    Global Positioning System coordinates, to be used to
    cultivate industrial hemp; and
        (3) if federal law requires a research purpose for the
    cultivation of industrial hemp, a description of one or
    more research purposes planned for the cultivation of
    industrial hemp which may include the study of the growth,
    cultivation, or marketing of industrial hemp; however, the
    research purpose requirement shall not be construed to
    limit the commercial sale of industrial hemp.
    (b-5) A person shall not process industrial hemp in this
State without registering with the Department on a form
prescribed by the Department.
    (c) The Department may determine, by rule, the duration of
a license or registration; application, registration, and
license fees; and the requirements for license or registration
renewal.
 
    Section 15. Rules.
    (a) The application and licensing requirements shall be
determined by the Department and set by rule within 120 days of
the effective date of this Act.
    (b) The rules set by the Department shall include one
yearly inspection of a licensed industrial hemp cultivation
operation and allow for additional unannounced inspections of a
licensed industrial hemp cultivation operation at the
Department's discretion.
    (c) The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the
administration and enforcement of this Act, including rules
concerning standards and criteria for licensure and
registration, for the payment of applicable fees, signage, and
for forms required for the administration of this Act.
    (d) The Department shall adopt rules for the testing of the
industrial hemp THC levels and the disposal of plant matter
exceeding lawful THC levels, including an option for a
cultivator to retest for a minor violation, with the retest
threshold determined by the Department and set in rule. Those
rules may provide for the use of seed certified to meet the THC
levels mandated by this Act as an alternative to testing.
 
    Section 17. Administrative hearings. Administrative
hearings involving licensees under this Act shall be conducted
under the Department's rules governing formal administrative
proceedings.
 
    Section 18. Industrial Hemp Regulatory Fund. There is
created in the State treasury a special fund to be known as the
Industrial Hemp Regulatory Fund. All fees and fines collected
by the Department under this Act shall be deposited into the
Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be utilized by the Department
for the purposes of implementation, administration, and
enforcement of this Act.
 
    Section 19. Immunity. Except for willful or wanton
misconduct, a person employed by the Department shall not be
subject to criminal or civil penalties for taking any action
under this Act when the actions are within the scope of his or
her employment. Representation and indemnification of
Department employees shall be provided to Department employees
as set forth in Section 2 of the State Employee Indemnification
Act.
 
    Section 20. Hemp products. Nothing in this Act shall alter
the legality of hemp or hemp products that are presently legal
to possess or own.
 
    Section 25. Violation of federal law. Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to authorize any person to violate federal
rules, regulations, or laws. If any part of this Act conflicts
with a provision of the federal laws regarding industrial hemp,
the federal provisions shall control to the extent of the
conflict.
 
    Section 895. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.886 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.886 new)
    Sec. 5.886. The Industrial Hemp Regulatory Fund.
 
    Section 900. The Illinois Noxious Weed Law is amended by
changing Section 2 as follows:
 
    (505 ILCS 100/2)  (from Ch. 5, par. 952)
    Sec. 2. As used in this Act:
    (1) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm,
corporation, company, society, association, the State or any
department, agency, or subdivision thereof, or any other
entity.
    (2) "Control", "controlled" or "controlling" includes
being in charge of or being in possession, whether as owner,
lessee, renter, or tenant, under statutory authority, or
otherwise.
    (3) "Director" means the Director of the Department of
Agriculture of the State of Illinois, or his or her duly
appointed representative.
    (4) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture of the
State of Illinois.
    (5) "Noxious weed" means any plant which is determined by
the Director, the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer
and Environmental Sciences of the University of Illinois and
the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the
University of Illinois, to be injurious to public health,
crops, livestock, land or other property. "Noxious weed" does
not include industrial hemp as defined and authorized under the
Industrial Hemp Act.
    (6) "Control Authority" means the governing body of each
county, and shall represent all rural areas and cities,
villages and townships within the county boundaries.
    (7) "Applicable fund" means the fund current at the time
the work is performed or the money is received.
(Source: P.A. 99-539, eff. 7-8-16.)
 
    Section 905. The Cannabis Control Act is amended by
changing Sections 3 and 8 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 550/3)  (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 703)
    Sec. 3. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires:
    (a) "Cannabis" includes marihuana, hashish and other
substances which are identified as including any parts of the
plant Cannabis Sativa, whether growing or not; the seeds
thereof, the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and
any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or
preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin, including
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and all other cannabinol
derivatives, including its naturally occurring or
synthetically produced ingredients, whether produced directly
or indirectly by extraction, or independently by means of
chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and
chemical synthesis; but shall not include the mature stalks of
such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made
from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture,
salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks
(except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil or cake, or
the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of
germination. "Cannabis" does not include industrial hemp as
defined and authorized under the Industrial Hemp Act.
    (b) "Casual delivery" means the delivery of not more than
10 grams of any substance containing cannabis without
consideration.
    (c) "Department" means the Illinois Department of Human
Services (as successor to the Department of Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse) or its successor agency.
    (d) "Deliver" or "delivery" means the actual, constructive
or attempted transfer of possession of cannabis, with or
without consideration, whether or not there is an agency
relationship.
    (e) "Department of State Police" means the Department of
State Police of the State of Illinois or its successor agency.
    (f) "Director" means the Director of the Department of
State Police or his designated agent.
    (g) "Local authorities" means a duly organized State,
county, or municipal peace unit or police force.
    (h) "Manufacture" means the production, preparation,
propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of
cannabis, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from
substances of natural origin, or independently by means of
chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and
chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging
of cannabis or labeling of its container, except that this term
does not include the preparation, compounding, packaging, or
labeling of cannabis as an incident to lawful research,
teaching, or chemical analysis and not for sale.
    (i) "Person" means any individual, corporation, government
or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate,
trust, partnership or association, or any other entity.
    (j) "Produce" or "production" means planting, cultivating,
tending or harvesting.
    (k) "State" includes the State of Illinois and any state,
district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession thereof,
and any area subject to the legal authority of the United
States of America.
    (l) "Subsequent offense" means an offense under this Act,
the offender of which, prior to his conviction of the offense,
has at any time been convicted under this Act or under any laws
of the United States or of any state relating to cannabis, or
any controlled substance as defined in the Illinois Controlled
Substances Act.
(Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
 
    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.