An Act To Make Changes to the State's Hemp Program
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1942
Committee Amendment CA_A_S557 (Senate)
Amends: 5 MRSA §5303, 7 MRSA §2231

COMMITTEE AMEND:rvtENT " f1' " to S.P. 683, L.D. 1942, "An Act To Make 
Changes to the State's Hemp Program" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Improve the Laws Governing Hemp by Bringing Them into Compliance 
with Federal Law' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §5303, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2017, c. 288, Pt. A, §12, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Ten-year limits. For applicants to and licensees and registrants of the Board of 
Licensure in Medicine, the Board of Osteopathic Li censure, the Board of Dental Practice, 
the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the State Board of Social Worker Li censure, 
the State Board of Nursing, the Board of Chiropractic Li censure, the Board of Trustees of 
the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, the State Board of Examiners in Physical Therapy, 
the State Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors, the Board of Respiratory Care 
Practitioners, the Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure, the Board of Occupational 
Therapy Practice, the Board of Speech, Audiology and · Hearing, the Radiologic 
Technology Board of Examiners, the Nursing Home Administrators Licensing Board, the 
Board of Licensure of Podiatric Medicine, the Board of Complementary Health Care 
Providers, the Maine Board of Pharmacy, and the Emergency Medical Services' Board, for 
applicants to and licensees of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestty 
0 
for growing, processing and transporting hemp and for applicants for massage therapy 
licensure or licensed massage therapists; the following apply. 
A. The procedures outlined in sections 5301 and 5302 for the consideration of prior 
criminal conviction as an element of fitness to practice a licensed profession, trade or 
occupation apply within 10 years of the applicant's or licensee's final discharge, if any, 
from the correctional system. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" f\ "to S.P. 683, L.D .. 1942 ( S-5~1 J 
B. Beyond the 10-year period, ex-offender applicants or licensees with no additional 
convictions must be considered in the same manner as applicants or licensees 
possessing no prior criminal record for the purposes of licensing decisions. 
C. There is no time limitation for consideration of a registrant's, an applicant's or 
licensee's conduct that gave rise to the criminal conviction if that conduct.is otherwise 
a ground for disciplinary action. 
Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §2231, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 12, Pt. B, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
2. Growing permitted. Notwithstanding any etheF provision of law to the contrary, 
a person may plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell and buy hemp if that person holds 
a license issued pursuant to subsection 4, except that a person may plant and grow up to 3 
hemp plants on no more than one acre of land area or within an indoor facility and harvest, 
possess and process that hemp for personal use 1.vithout a license. A grower licensee may 
plant, grow and harvest only hemp that is grown from seeds saved by the grower licensee 
as provided in paragraph A, acquired from a certified seed source, grown from a clone that 
is· produced from seeds acquired from a certified seed source or propagated from tissue 
cultures that are removed from live plants grown from seeds acquired from a certified seed 
source. A grower licensee may acquire hemp seeds directly from a certified seed source or 
from a hemp seed distributor licensed in this State distributing hemp seeds pursuant to 
subsection 2-A. 
A. A grower licensee may save seeds from hemp plants that the person has grown and 
harvested and, after having ensured through testing by an independent 3rd-party tester 
that the plants that will grow from the seeds will meet the definition of hemp, may use 
those seeds for breeding and planting hemp. 
B. A grower licensee, within 14 days after planting hemp seeds or clones, shall provide 
to the commissioner a listing of the varieties of seeds or clones planted and a statement 
that the seeds or clones meet the definition of hemp. This paragraph. may not be 
interpreted to require providing the information required by this paragraph to the 
commissioner in advance of an application to grov1 hemp. 
Sec. 3. 7 MRSA §2231, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2019, c. 528, §1, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place: 
6. Rules. The commissioner shall adopt rules to align the laws governing hemp in this 
State with 7 United States Code, Section 1639p(a)(2)(A) (2020), 7 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 990 (2020) and any additional federal statutes or regulations. 
The rules must establish an application fee, a license fee, per acre or per square foot fees 
for monitoring, sampling and testing and guidelines for monitoring the growth and harvest 
of hemp. 
The rules must establish a mechanism for conducting criminal background checks on 
grower licensees and all key participants and require fees to be paid by the grower licensee 
or key participant. 
For purposes of this subsection, "key participant" means a person who, as determined by 
the commissioner by rule, has a direct or indirect financial interest in an entity producing 
hemp, such as an owner or partner in a partnership. "Key participant" also includes a person 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEEAMENDMENT"A "toS.P.683,L.D.1942 (s-SS"lj 
in a corporate entity at an executive level including a chief executive officer, chief 
operating officer and chief financial officer. "Key participant" does not include other 
management positions such as farm, field or shift managers. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 4. 7 MRSA §2231, sub-§6-A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 528, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 5. 7 MRSA §2231, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 528, §1, is repealed.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, brings the laws 
governing hemp into compliance with the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 
and the United States Department of Agriculture's regulations in 7 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 990. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/25/22 feac:.. 
LD 1942 
LR2595(02) 
An Act To Make Changes to the State's Hemp Program 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ''A" ls-s~l J 
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
· 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry for rulemaking are anticipated to 1-~ 
minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2595(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1