Source: thedailychronic.net
SAINT PAUL, MN — Lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve an omnibus agriculture and finance bill that includes a provision to allow industrial hemp cultivation in the state.
The bill was immediately tabled in the Senate following a first reading, delaying any further advancement of the bill indefinitely.
The bill, House File 1437, was approved by a floor vote of 110-18, and is intended to fund Minnesota agriculture and rural development programs over the next two years.
Prior to the floor vote, an amendment to the bill was presented by Reps. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) and Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis) and approved by a vote of 89-37.
The amendment would authorize the Industrial Hemp Development Act, which would give the state’s Department of Agriculture authority to issue licences for industrial hemp cultivation beginning “the day after the federal government authorizes the commercial production of industrial hemp in this country.
The amendment would also allow the state to conduct industrial hemp pilot research programs, which are currently authorized by the federal government.
While the bill was overwhelmingly approved in the House, it was immediately tabled in the Senate after being read the first time. The motion to lay the bill on the table came from Senate Majority Leader Thomas Bakk.
While tabling a bill does not necessarily mean the bill is dead, it does delay the bill’s progress indefinitely while other matters are considered.
The full text of HF1437 can be found here. The hemp amendment begins in section 38, on page 29.
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