H 5244  General Bill, By Forrest, Hiott, Ott and Lucas
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 46-55-10, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE HEMP FARMING ACT, SO AS TO
 REMOVE THE BAN ON UNPROCESSED OR RAW HEMP MATERIAL FROM THE DEFINITION OF
 "HEMP PRODUCTS"; AND TO AMEND SECTION 46-55-20, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO HEMP
 LICENSES, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO ISSUE AN
 IDENTIFICATION CARD FOR A LICENSEE AND THE LICENSEE'S EMPLOYEE.
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   02/19/20  House  Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 11)
   02/19/20  House  Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
                     Resources and Environmental Affairs
                     (House Journal-page 11)

TO AMEND SECTION 46-55-10, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE HEMP FARMING ACT, SO AS TO REMOVE THE BAN ON UNPROCESSED OR RAW HEMP MATERIAL FROM THE DEFINITION OF "HEMP PRODUCTS"; AND TO AMEND SECTION 46-55-20, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO HEMP LICENSES, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO ISSUE AN IDENTIFICATION CARD FOR A LICENSEE AND THE LICENSEE'S EMPLOYEE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 46-55-10(9) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 14 of 2019, is further amended to read:

    "(9)    'Hemp products' means all products with the federally defined THC level for hemp derived from, or made by, processing hemp plants or hemp plant parts, that are prepared in a form available for commercial sale, including, but not limited to, cosmetics, personal care products, food intended for animal or human consumption, cloth, cordage, fiber, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, plastics, and any product containing one or more hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol. Unprocessed or raw plant material, including nonsterilized hemp seeds, is not considered a hemp product."

SECTION    2.    Section 46-55-20(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 14 of 2019, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

    "( )    The department shall issue an identification card to a licensee or a licensee's employee cultivating, handling, or processing hemp containing the licensee's information and the employee's name at no cost to the licensee or licensee's employee and the card must be on their person while cultivating, handling, or processing hemp."

SECTION    3.    A person who was issued a license in 2019 by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture shall remain licensed until December 31, 2020. These licensees may use a post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable method on a sample from the top, middle, and bottom of a hemp plant and take the average of the delta-9 THC concentration levels from each portion of the plant until December 31, 2020.

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.