2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 2 - AGRICULTURE (§§ 2-1-1 — 2-23-12) › Chapter 23 - HEMP FARMING (§§ 2-23-1 — 2-23-12) › Section 2-23-10 - [Effective 10/1/2024] Enforcement; corrective action plan; revocation of licenses; reporting of licensees and permittees to Attorney General

(a)
A violation of a plan authorized by Code Section
2-23-11
and approved by the secretary of agriculture of the United States by a licensee or permittee shall be subject to enforcement in accordance with this Code section.
(b)
(1)
A hemp grower licensee under this chapter shall be required to conduct a corrective action plan if the Commissioner determines that the hemp grower licensee has negligently violated this chapter or has violated rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter by:
(A)
Failing to provide a legal description and global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating fields and greenhouses the hemp grower licensee uses to cultivate and harvest hemp ;
(B)
Failing to properly obtain a hemp grower license from the department;
(C)
Producing Cannabis sativa L. with a total delta-9-THC concentration that exceeds the legal limit; or
(D)
Otherwise negligently violating this chapter.
(2)
A corrective action plan required by this Code section shall include:
(A)
A reasonable date by which the hemp grower licensee shall correct the negligent violation; and
(B)
A requirement that the hemp grower licensee shall periodically report to the Commissioner on the compliance status of the hemp grower licensee with the corrective action plan for a period of not less than two calendar years after the violation.
(c)
Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, a hemp grower licensee that negligently violates this chapter or rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter shall not as a result be subject to any criminal or civil enforcement action by any government agency other than the enforcement action authorized under subsection (b) of this Code section.
(d)
A hemp grower licensee that negligently violates this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter three times in a five-year period shall have its hemp grower license issued pursuant to this chapter immediately revoked and shall be ineligible to reapply for a hemp grower license for a period of five years after the date of the third violation.
(e)
If the Commissioner determines that a hemp grower licensee has violated state law with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, the Commissioner shall immediately report the hemp grower licensee to the United States Attorney General and the state Attorney General, and subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to the violation.
(f)
Laws enacting criminal offenses, including laws provided for in Title 16, not in conflict with this chapter shall continue to be enforceable and of full force and effect.
Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 498,§ 15, eff. 10/1/2024.
Amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 484,§ 8, 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.