Lawmakers depart, but bills remain for Brown to ponder

By Alisen Boada
Source: capitolweekly.net

The lawmakers are out of town, the Capitol is quiet and the governor is back at his desk after a Vegas trip.

But as the lawmakers fled back to their districts, they deposited scores of bills on the desk of Gov. Brown, who has a month to sign them, veto them or let them become law without his signature. Since he actually reads the bills – not all governors do, believe it or not – and actually writes his own veto messages, he’ll be at his desk quite awhile.

Here are some thumbnail descriptions of what he’s looking at.

There’s more than one way to create a green economy, as suggested by Sen. Mark Leno, D- San Francisco, whose SB 676 allows hemp cultivation for industrial purposes. 


Not to be mistaken with marijuana, industrial hemp contains no more than 3/10 of 1 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s psychoactive, munchies-inducing compound. 


A sustainable crop mired in stigma for years, hemp is already used in plenty of healthy food, textile, and natural body care products on the market. 


Just ask the nearest hipster on the nutritional benefits of hemp milk. 


According to the bill, California is already home to 55 percent of the nation’s hemp product companies, part of a $400 million industry growing at a rate of $26 million per year.