Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB2668

Creates the Industrial Hemp Act. Provides that any person desiring to grow, process, cultivate, harvest, process, possess, sell, or purchase industrial hemp or industrial hemp related products must be licensed by the Department of Agriculture. Provides that the application for a license shall include the name and address of the applicant and the legal description of the land area to be used to grow or process industrial hemp and that the license shall be valid for a period of one year. Requires an applicant to complete a statewide and nationwide criminal background check. Provides that no person with a prior felony conviction within 10 years of applying for a license shall be eligible for licensure. Preempts home rule.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the introduced bill with changes. Amends the Industrial Hemp Act. Provides that any person desiring to grow, process, cultivate, or harvest industrial hemp or industrial hemp related products must be licensed by the Department (instead of grow, process, cultivate, harvest, process, possess, sell, or purchase industrial hemp). Makes other changes. Creates the Industrial Hemp Research Act. Provides that public universities in the State, except the University of Illinois at Chicago, are authorized to study the feasibility and desirability of industrial hemp production in this State. Provides that the authority to study industrial hemp expires on January 1, 2019 and is subject to renewal. Provides that any study shall include an analysis of required soils and growing conditions, seed availability and varieties, including in-the-ground seed variety trials, harvest methods, market economies, and environmental benefits and research shall include finding high producing, high quality varieties with a zero percent level of THC. Provides that any public university in the State shall obtain all federal and State permits needed to legally grow industrial hemp for fiber or seed production prior to importing any non-sterilized industrial hemp seeds capable of germination into the State. Amends the Cannabis Control Act and the Cannabis and Controlled Substances Tort Claims Act. Provides that "cannabis" does not include industrial hemp solely as authorized for the purposes of the Industrial Hemp Research Act.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of House Amendment No 1 with changes. Deletes language that created the Industrial Hemp Act. Further amends the Industrial Hemp Research Act. Provides that public universities (including the University of Illinois in Chicago) in the State are authorized to study the feasibility and desirability of industrial hemp production in the State.

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