Alabama Administrative Code › Title 80 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES › MARKETING › Chapter 80-10-21 - INDUSTRIAL HEMP › Section 80-10-21-.04 - Application for Grower Licensing Agreement; Criteria and Procedure for Evaluation

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) The
				department shall apply the criteria established in paragraphs (a) through (m)
				of this subsection in evaluating an application for the grower license.
(a) In accordance with Section 3 of this
				administrative regulation, the applicant shall submit a complete application
				with all required components and attachments.
(b) The applicant shall comply with the
				responsibility to submit:
1. Hemp Grow Plan
				Outdoor Report and Hemp Grow Plan Greenhouse/Indoor Report, incorporated by
				reference;
2. Harvest/Destruction
				Report, incorporated by reference;
3. Post-Harvest Production reports,
				incorporated by reference; and
4.
				Any other reports deemed necessary by the department to which the applicant has
				agreed.
(c) The
				applicant's growing sites, handling sites, storage sites, and primary residence
				shall be located in the State of Alabama.
(d) The applicant shall affirm that the
				applicant resides in Alabama at the primary residence or within 50 miles of at
				least one of the applicant's Alabama grow sites listed on the Grower License
				Application form.
(e) The criminal
				background check report indicates that, within ten (10) years from the date
				when the background check was issued, the applicant or any key participant
				shall not have:
1. A felony conviction
				related to a controlled substance under State or Federal law; provided however,
				that an exception applies to a person who was lawfully growing Hemp under the
				2014 Farm Bill before December 20, 2018, and whose conviction also occurred
				before that date. If the applicant is an entity, all Key Participants of the
				entity are subject to this requirement.
2. Any other felony or misdemeanor conviction
				which affects the grower's competency to hold a license to grow, handle or
				process hemp.
(g) The
				research or grow plan shall be compliant with state and federal law.
(h) The applicant shall have a seed or
				propagule acquisition form.
(i) In
				the past, including those times when the applicant was not a participant in the
				department's program, the applicant shall have demonstrated a willingness to
				comply with the department's rules, instructions from department staff, and
				instructions from representatives of ALEA and other law enforcement
				agencies.
(j) The applicant shall
				not be delinquent in making any required reports or payments to the department
				in connection with the applicant's participation in the program or other
				programs within the department.
(k)
				The applicant shall not have any unpaid fines or civil penalties owed to the
				department.
1. The applicant shall not make
				any false statements or representations to a representative of the department
				or a law enforcement agency.
2. The
				department may conditionally approve an application for a grower licensing
				agreement if the application satisfies the criteria established in this
				administrative regulation.
3. The
				department may approve an applicant to grow an acreage or square footage that
				is equal to, greater than, or less than the acreage or square footage stated in
				the application.
4. The department
				shall notify applicants by letter or email whether the application has been
				denied or conditionally approved. A person shall not be a participant in the
				department's program until the applicant and the department have executed a
				grower licensing agreement following the applicant's completion of the
				department's mandatory orientation session as required by this administrative
				regulation.