2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 2 - AGRICULTURE (§§ 2-1-1 — 2-23-12) › Chapter 23 - HEMP FARMING (§§ 2-23-1 — 2-23-12) › Section 2-23-5 - [Effective 10/1/2024] Procedure for licensing; fees; license requirements; limitations on licenses

(a)
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, application for, consideration and issuance of, and revocation of hemp grower licenses issued by the department pursuant to this Code section shall be accomplished in accordance with Chapter 5 of this title, and such licenses shall otherwise be governed by such chapter.
(2)
Hemp grower licenses shall be issued for one calendar year at an annual license fee of $50.00 per acre cultivated up to a maximum license fee of $5,000.00.
(b)
Any person applying for a hemp grower license shall provide with such application to the department:
(1)
A legal description and global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating fields and greenhouses to be used to cultivate and harvest hemp; and
(2)
Written consent, allowing representatives of the department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and other affected state and local law enforcement agencies to enter all premises where hemp is being cultivated, harvested, or handled for the purpose of conducting physical inspections and ensuring compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(c)
(1)
Upon receipt of an application for a hemp grower license, the department shall conduct a criminal background check and is authorized to obtain a federal criminal history report in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection for an individual or, if the applicant is a business entity, all key participants seeking to obtain a hemp grower license.
(2)
At least one set of classifiable electronically recorded fingerprints of the individual applicant or, if the applicant is a business entity, one set of classifiable electronically recorded fingerprints of each key participant shall be submitted to the department in accordance with the fingerprint system of identification established by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall transmit the fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an appropriate report and shall promptly conduct a search of state records based upon the fingerprints. After receiving the report from the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the department shall review the record for all individuals or key participants, as applicable.
(3)
No license shall be issued to any applicant who has been convicted of a felony related to a state or federally controlled substance within ten years of the date of application or who materially falsifies any information contained in a license application.
(d)
(1)
No person shall be issued more than one hemp grower license, nor shall any person be permitted to have a beneficial interest in more than one hemp grower license issued under this chapter, regardless of the degree of such interest.
(2)
Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the reissuance of a valid hemp grower license if the license has been held by marriage prior to the creation of any of the relationships defined in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3)
For purposes of this subsection:
(A)
The term 'person' shall include all members of a hemp grower licensee's family and all corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business entities in which a hemp grower licensee holds more than a 50 percent ownership interest; the term 'family' shall include any person related to the holder of the hemp grower license within the first degree of consanguinity and affinity as computed according to the canon law and who is claimed as a dependent by the hemp grower licensee for income tax purposes; and
(B)
The beneficiaries of a trust shall be considered to have a beneficial interest in any business forming a part of the trust estate.
Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 498,§ 7, eff. 10/1/2024.
Amended by 2021 Ga. Laws 261,§ 3, eff. 5/7/2021.
Amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 484,§ 3, eff. 7/22/2020.
Added by 2019 Ga. Laws 314,§ 1, eff. 5/10/2019.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.