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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Residence Committee on Agriculture and Livestock unanimously authorized a bill Tuesday to establish a industrial hemp farming program in Texas. It will now advance to the Residence Calendars Committee to be scheduled for a vote of the complete Residence.

The bipartisan bill, HB 1325, is sponsored by Reps. Tracy King (D-Batesville), Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio), Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), Justin Rodriguez (D-San Antonio), and Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), along with cosponsors Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville), Stan Lambert (R-Abilene) and James White (R-Hillister).

In summary, HB 1325:

amends state criminal laws and establishes regulations to permit for and govern the cultivation, manufacture, and sale of hemp and hemp goods

tasks the Texas Division of Agriculture with building a hemp production program to submit to the U.S. Division of Agriculture, which will establish Texas as the primary regulatory authority more than hemp in the state and

establishes a licensing course of action for hemp farmers and creates guidelines governing testing, processing, packaging, labeling, and high-quality handle, as nicely as safety regulations for consumable goods that will be created and sold in Texas.

“We applaud the committee members for advancing this commonsense legislation and hope the complete Residence will join them in supporting it,” said Shawn Hauser, a leader of the American Hemp Campaign, who testified in favor of HB 1325 at the committee’s April 1 hearing. “By enacting hemp legislation this year, Texas will be among the initially states to capitalize on this commodity that just not too long ago became legal below federal law. Offered its size, agricultural sources, and business enterprise-friendly environment, it would quickly develop into a national leader in the emerging U.S. hemp sector.”

Hauser, a Texas native and University of Texas at Austin alumna, chairs the Hemp Practice Group at Vicente Sederberg LLC and was lead author of the American Hemp Campaign’s model hemp production plan and guide to the 2018 farm bill. The farm bill, which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in December, lifted the federal government’s prohibition on hemp farming.

“The U.S. industry for hemp and hemp-associated goods is growing quickly,” Hauser stated. “We could not see one more new money crop like this for decades. It would be a massive boon for Texas farmers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs.”

In January, the committee released an interim report recommending lawmakers enact legislation this year to legalize and regulate industrial hemp farming in Texas, stating it “could be beneficial for Texas farmers, the Texas economy, the U.S. economy, and the atmosphere.” The committee unanimously authorized hemp legislation final session (HB 3587), but it was never scheduled for a vote on the Residence floor regardless of broad assistance from the Texas farming sector, the report noted.