Meetings
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[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Okay. Oh, are you not in the room?
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: I am waiting to be let in.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Alright. Representative O'Brien. Why did appropriations get it? Is there There is something in the underlying bill that triggered a visit to appropriations? And I can't recall what it was. I think
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: I mean, they were interested in the fees for the hemp section, but it was the CAFO piece and the contingency language and things of that sort. I think it kind of triggered that.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: What's the CAFO piece?
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: So the CAFO study group
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Oh, okay. So not the underlying bill, but the section that we added that.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Okay. Alright. So that's And also the underlying bill with the they were interested in the pest control piece as impacting the funds, and then they were also interested in the fees with hemp. And but I I think the primary appropriation piece was the CAFO piece that that you folks had.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Okay. Alright. So in any case, Ways and Means already did look at it. They proposed something that Bradley will show us now.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Right. Bradley Schumann, also legislative council. Ways and Means, did three small instances of amendment. The first instance of amendment is, you'll recall that the the changes to the hemp section that this committee passed included making some criminal and civil penalties to selling unregistered products. And long story short, that piece lives in a different part of the cannabis chapter. And and because that piece calls for fees or and civil penalties, some of which would be deposited to the state, some of which would go to the cannabis control board, We had to just make an amendment to section 19 of, the bill. And section 19 is the cannabis special fund that allows the cannabis control board to actually take on these fees. And so, this would authorize the cannabis control board to make sure that they have the authorization to take whatever fees that they can get from hemp or from the, the piece of the bill that criminalized and made civil penalties for selling unregistered products, hemp and cannabis products. They can deposit that into their special fund if they are direct to those fees. The second piece is adding a section. This is adding a study. So on or before January 15, the cannabis control board of 2027, the cannabis control board shall submit to the agriculture committees and the ways and means and finance committees. And so this is a study about hemp feeds. And so Ways and Means wanted to add this in because we'll know more information about what the federal hemp landscape is come November. And so ways and means wanted a report from the cannabis control board that would kind of essentially say, what's your game plan for fees? Are you amending fees? Are you waiving them? Have you defined pref processor, or do you plan to? So, essentially, a summary of all hemp fees in effect for fiscal year twenty twenty seven, including any waivers, reductions, or alterations to the hemp fee schedule. Any revenue derived from each fee of fiscal year twenty twenty six, which is just, you know, about a month. So that might not be very much, if anything. But the bill is effective on passage, so they included that piece in there. And then they also wanted just kind of a comparison of fees in other jurisdictions and an analysis of policies or trends that might affect the viability of the fee amount and a recommendation regarding how the hemp fee schedule is set forth in, section eight fifty eight may be adjusted to better promote the intent of the general assembly to better support small business hemp producers and processors. So essentially, they just wanted the cannabis control board to come back with a study on the fees, especially in light of us knowing a little bit more about what's going to happen with the federal regulation landscape and whether the Cannabis Control Board is going to need to take actions to engage in that rulemaking authority to potentially waive some fees for craft processors and things of that sort.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Representative Brown. So, Bradley, did CCB testify, do you know, that they have capacity to do this or Yeah. Any extra money? Yep.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Yep. This actually came largely from them.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: They they were? I mean, the ways
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: of means instigated it, and then they proposed this language.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: So they're supporting it. Yes. Alright. Was there any opposition to it?
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Not that I was aware of.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: No. Can you go back to the first instance of bit? This is can you and explain again what this is doing here, Patrick?
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Yes. So, section 19, it'll probably be easier if I just pull it up. Seventeen, eighteen, 19. Okay. So this is section 19 of the report of the committee on agriculture. So recall that you, this committee did a strike all. And and so this section 19 is the cannabis control board special fund. And so, this committee amended the special fund to to allow the hemp, the the cannabis control board to deposit fees that they get from hemp oversight. Actually, this was language that came over from the senate. And so, no, it wasn't this committee. Never mind. It was this committee that did this. And so basically, this allows the cannabis control board to deposit any fees that they get from hemp into their special fund. So you'll see that it just says chapter 31, sub chapter three hemp. And because it was initially, it was designed to just capture those hemp fees. And then, subsequent to this conversation, we also the the committee also added, the sales restrictions on in section 20. And these sales restrictions call for, fees, fees or civil penalties and things of that sort. And so whenever the cannabis control board collects a civil penalty, those civil penalties can be deposited into their special fund. And, and so when, Ted and I were conferring on this as it was before ways and means, we took another look at that and said, okay. Well, actually, where we put this is not in the subchapter on hemp. It's just in the chapter on cannabis. And so where this lands in the statute required an amendment to the that language of the special fund just to allow them to allow the cannabis control board to have to to capture those fees. And so what we did was we just kinda brought in the language a little bit. So instead of just referring to subchapter for hemp, so the hemp subchapter will be put in the the cannabis control board chapter about cannabis. Instead of just referring to subchapter on hemp, they just refer to that entire chapter.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Representative O'Brien. Does anybody know what the special fund is used for? I mean, they have a their operating budget comes from something else, I suppose, general fund or something,
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: but then they specifically have this.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: I think was that supposed to be earmarked for education? I don't know. So trying to discourage Right. That was part of the original Yeah. That's grand I'm not certain.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Yeah. I'm not certain either.
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: Probably to be his problems.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: We could ask him.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Yeah. We could get JFO. We needed to answer that question. Byron. Chair Byron. Go ahead.
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: So ways and means to report on this, when I get to the hemp section, which I was reporting on, I'm just gonna report on section fifteen, sixteen down to state statute eight fifty four. And that's where gov ops took over and made a lot of changes. Okay. So I was gonna punt that from there to rep Barbara Okay. And and let him and if he's not there, I told rep Hangout, she got to report on it. Gives her right into spots.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: If I may. So I can actually answer representative O'Brien's question. So the statute itself for the special fund, so these are fees that are deposited for the purpose of so any monies from the fund shall only be appropriated for the purpose of implementation, administration, and enforcement of the chapters. And so so it's it's for programmatic and administrative purposes. I I'm not familiar with any other requirements of of, like, the the cannabis money and what that use is used to support more broadly. But anything that's deposited into that special fund is used for administration at the program.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Right. So we don't have to it'll be ways and means that walks through and explains this. Good. So we we should understand because we we need to struggle it. Yeah. But we don't have to answer technical questions if there there are any. Anything else? Yeah.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: There's a third instance of amendment here. So the waiving or reducing of license fees for craft processors, that section, that waste means add a sunset clause. And so the Canvas Control Board testified that they only want the authority to do that if the federal law changes to make processing count much more restrictive. Right? And so if the federal law does not change in the way that it's currently set to, the cannabis control board said it was their plans and not have to waive or reduce licensing fees. And so based on that testimony, house ways and means decided, okay. Well, let's sunset this. So and and so if they don't use the authority, then they will if they don't use the authority, then they have to then that will that will just go away.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: All right. Any questions for Bradley? Any concerns about this amendment? Pretty as amendments go, It's pretty reasonable. So I think, why don't we just get a show of hands first draw poll? Everyone supporting, would everyone support this language? Okay, good. Noting that Brigham's not here. Did
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: JFO do a
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: A fiscal note? Yeah. They did. They did on this.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: As far as how much this might bring in? Yeah. So there's a fiscal note. And the next step then will be preparations, if they stay on schedule, they're going to hear that it's two thirty or 02:45. So we should just be available to take a quick break maybe from the floor, or maybe the floor will be out of session because we're gonna shut chunks again today. And we'll come back and we'll hear the fit. So, the amendment that they're looking at, just to give everybody a heads up, think there's actually two Bradley, are you? I don't
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: know what's public or not, so you might.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: You say that, okay. Yeah, okay. So when we passed S60, the Farm Fund Climate Fund? Yeah. The Farm and Forestry Special Fund. Yeah. Was some language in it that the governor's office I think we talked about it sometime. The governor's office flagged as being problematic legally. And so it was a little bit of an inconsistency. They asked us the governor said he would sign it, but he asked us to change his sentence somewhere in a future bill, to amend the language. And we have done that in our miscellaneous bill that's in the senate currently, but just getting a little worried about timing and want to make sure that we get this one sentence fixed. I suggested maybe we can put that in this bill as well, just so we could have second log of certainty. Then in addition to that, there is, may I remember, in the governor's budget, there was a request for elimination of the fees to the medium and large environment operations.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Pay, though.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Pay, yep, yep. That was in the governor's budget. It was in the House version. It was in the senate version. So I think everybody was okay with that. But I guess it's just been somebody just pointed out that there was no language associated with it. So I believe that somebody brought that to house appropriations, and they're gonna add that language. So that will be the other amendment that we get there. So it's nothing to do with the bill, nothing to do with s three twenty three, but just something that had to Michelle, we'll
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: see you later. Alright. So they're putting the language in to remove those fees from LFO and MFO because I heard senate keeps yanking them out? I think that well, I hadn't heard that. I think it was
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: in the version of the senate budget that passed, but it's just that this language wasn't there. Now maybe I've got maybe I've got the story mixed up. But and, Bradley, if you can't say anymore, that's fine. But, Bob
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Yeah. I'm I'm just not sure. I I know that those are the grounds for amendment that I'll be presenting. I I don't have the background.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Well, Philip, we don't want you to add to the confusion. Well Yeah. That's good. Have more clarity on this afternoon. And maybe we can figure out between now and then just offline too. Well, some items in the budget approves can just put there and other things like this. They can't just subtract it without language. Yeah. Usually there's language added also, because the budget that we passed has language in it. And I don't know. They're still working on the budget, so I don't know. It's a bit of a mystery to everybody, I guess. It'll be, I hope, resolved in appropriations, then we'll have to take another look at it. We'll have a scrum on the floor. Yeah. Just a quick update on all the other bills. Starting with $9.32, that's the wood products manufacturers, which has is on third reading, I think, today in the senate floor.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: That's something I'm following. I think it's Ellen's.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Yes, it is Ellen's, yep. So that will come back to us, and when that does, we'll have to get together with Ellen so she can walk us through the amendment, because they did amend it. Totally acceptable. That could happen also today. More likely tomorrow, but could happen today. That goes way back to the log yards correction. Yeah, yeah. Stone. Yeah. Stony broth. Yeah. Right.
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: Which does not tell you.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Like it's a college in my room.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Yes. So that's coming within the next twenty four hours, I think. And then 09:41, Senate AG just met on that. Bradley, don't know if you can share anything about what they did, if they did anything.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: So I think that that is developing. They're taking issue with the study, and they want the study out. And so it's gonna be a matter of whether that's a conference committee or a floor amendment. And and so I I think that we'll know more in an hour. And I was actually going to see if the committee needs me, if I can go. Yes. I do need to be on the floor. You can. Yes. Okay. Thank you.
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: It's full regulation of agriculture.
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: Thank you, Brian. Thank you.
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: You. Yes, lots of things flying
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: today. Nine forty two is the other bill. That's our miscellaneous ag bill that Greg reported. That was blocked up in Senate Finance for a long time. I think it's gonna be on Okay. Thank you. I thought it was I thought they had said that out, but it's not.
[Unidentified member (likely floor reporter)]: What did we have in September?
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: Remember it, Vince?
[Bradley Schumann (Legislative Counsel)]: Oh, was
[Committee Chair (unidentified, addressed as 'Brian')]: I remember it. One thing I remember was the signage at the store, shelf tags. That's right. And just some housekeeping stuff with, isn't there a house key? I'm getting the two miscellaneous bills confused together. The three, right? I promise I'll make sure I'm gonna do this on everything before I come back to this. We're all done. I think Patricia can go offline. We'll be back.