An Act To Promote Industrial Hemp
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0525
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: HARVELL, SANDERSON, PLUMMER, BENNETT, CHASE, HICKMAN, JONES, KESCHL, PARRY, RUSSELL, SIROCKI
Amends: 7 MRSA §2231

Legislative Document 
No. 525 
H.P. 344 
House of Representatives, February 19, 2013 
An Act To Promote Industrial Hemp 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HARVELL of Farmington. 
Cosponsored by Representative SANDERSON of Chelsea, Senator PLUMMER of 
Cumberland and Representatives: BENNETT of Kennebunk, CHASE of Wells, HICKMAN of 
Winthrop, JONES of Freedom, KESCHL of Belgrade, PARRY of Arundel, RUSSELL of 
Portland, SIROCKI of Scarborough. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §2231, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 320, §1, is amended to 
read: 
3.  Application.  A person desiring to grow industrial hemp for commercial purposes 
shall apply to the commissioner for a license on a form prescribed by the commissioner. 
The application must include the name and address of the applicant, the legal description 
of the land area to be used for the production of industrial hemp and a map, an aerial 
photograph or global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating the production fields.  
Except for employees of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of 
Maine System involved in research and related activities, an applicant for an initial 
licensure must submit a set of the applicant's fingerprints, taken by a law enforcement 
officer, and any other information necessary to complete a statewide and nationwide 
criminal history record check by the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of 
Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All costs associated with the 
criminal history record check are the responsibility of the applicant and must be 
submitted with the fingerprints. Criminal history records provided to the commissioner 
under this section are confidential. The results of criminal records checks received under 
this subsection may only be used in determining an applicant's eligibility for licensure. A 
person with a prior criminal conviction is not eligible for licensure. 
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §2231, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 320, §1, is amended to 
read: 
4.  License issued.   Upon review and approval of an application, the commissioner 
shall notify the applicant and request that the application fee determined under subsection 
be submitted.  Upon receipt of the appropriate fee and in accordance with subsection 8, 
the commissioner shall issue a license, which is valid for a period of one year and only 
for the site or sites specified in the license. 
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §2231, sub-§§5 and 8, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 320, §1, are 
repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill removes the requirements that an applicant for an initial license to grow 
industrial hemp for commercial purposes must submit a set of the applicant's fingerprints 
and file with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry documentation 
indicating that the seeds planted were a type and variety of hemp approved by the 
commissioner and also repeals the provision that licensure is contingent upon action by 
the Federal Government.