(a) Except when grown by a registered established agricultural research institution or by a registered hemp breeder developing a new cultivar, industrial hemp shall be grown only if it is on the list of approved cultivars, or produced by clonal propagation of industrial hemp that is on the list of approved cultivars and therefore genetically identical to, and capable of exhibiting the same range of characteristics as, the parent cultivar.

(b) The list of approved cultivars shall include all of the following:

(1) Industrial hemp cultivars that have been certified by member organizations of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies, including, but not limited to, the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association.

(2) Industrial hemp cultivars that have been certified by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

(3) California varieties of industrial hemp cultivars that have been certified by a seed-certifying agency pursuant to Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 52401) of Chapter 2 of Division 18.

(c) (1) Upon recommendation by the board or the department, the secretary may update the list of approved cultivars by adding, amending, or removing cultivars.

(2) The adoption, amendment, or repeal of the list of approved cultivars, and the adoption of a methodology and procedure to add, amend, or remove a cultivar from the list of approved cultivars, pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(3) The department, in consultation with the board, shall hold at least one public hearing with public comment to determine the methodology and procedure by which a cultivar is added, amended, or removed from the list of approved cultivars.

(4) The department shall finalize the methodology and procedure to add, amend, or remove a cultivar from the list of approved cultivars and send the methodology and procedure to the Office of Administrative Law. The Office of Administrative Law shall file the methodology and procedure promptly with the Secretary of State without further review pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The methodology and procedure shall do all of the following:

(A) Indicate that the methodology and procedure are adopted pursuant to this division.

(B) State that the methodology and procedure are being transmitted for filing.

(C) Request that the Office of Administrative Law publish a notice of the filing of the methodology and procedure and print an appropriate reference in Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations.

(d) The department, in consultation with the board, may determine the manner in which the public is given notice of the list of approved cultivars, and any addition, amendment, or removal from that list.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 838, Sec. 5. (SB 153) Effective January 1, 2020.)