§ 564. State Hemp Program; registration; application; administration
(a) The Secretary shall establish and administer a State Hemp Program to regulate the growing, processing, testing, and marketing of industrial hemp and hemp products in the State.
(b)(1) A person shall register annually with the Secretary as part of the State Hemp Program in order to grow, process, or test hemp or hemp products in the State. A person shall apply for registration or renewal of a registration on a form provided by the Secretary. The application shall be accompanied by the fee required under section 570 of this title. The application or renewal form shall include:
(A) the name and address of the person applying for or renewing a registration;
(B) whether the person is applying to grow, process, or test hemp or hemp products;
(C) for a person applying as a grower:
(i) the location and acreage of all parcels where hemp will be grown;
(ii) a statement that the seeds obtained for planting are of a type and variety that do not exceed the federally defined tetrahydrocannabinol concentration level of hemp;
(D) for a person applying as a processor, the location of the processing site;
(E) for a person applying to test hemp or hemp products, the location of the site where testing will occur and any proof of certification required by the Secretary; and
(F) any additional information that the Secretary may require by rule.
(2) The Secretary may verify the information provided in the application or renewal form under subdivision (1) of this subsection and on any maps accompanying the application or renewal form and may request additional information in order to perform a review of an application for registration or renewal.
(c) The Secretary may deny an application for registration or renewal if the applicant:
(1) does not provide all the information requested on the application or renewal form;
(2) fails to submit the fee required under section 570 of this title;
(3) fails to submit additional information requested by the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section; or
(4) does not, as determined by the Secretary, satisfy the requirements of section 10113 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-334 for participation in the Program.
(d) A person registered under this section may purchase or import hemp genetics from any state that complies with the federal requirements for the cultivation of industrial hemp.
(e) A person registered with the Secretary under this section to grow, process, or test hemp crops or hemp products shall allow the Secretary to inspect hemp crops, processing sites, or laboratories registered under the State Hemp Program. The Secretary shall retain tests and inspection information collected under this section for the purposes of research of the growth and cultivation of industrial hemp.
(f) The name and general location of a person registered under this section shall be available for inspection and copying under the Public Records Act, provided that all records produced or acquired by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets related to the location of parcels where hemp will be grown, including coordinates, maps, and parcel identifiers, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed for inspection and copying under the Public Records Act. (Added 2007, No. 212 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2013, No. 84, § 1; 2017, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2019, No. 44, § 1, eff. May 30, 2019.)