4:28-10 Regulatory authority over production of hemp; adoption of rules, regulations.

5. a. Pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639p, and to designate itself as the primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp in the State, the department, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, shall promulgate regulations for submission, along with P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.), to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, as a plan under which the State monitors and regulates hemp production.

b. No later than 90 days after the effective date of P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.) and notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the department, after consultation with the Governor and Attorney General shall, immediately upon filing proper notice with the Office of Administrative Law, adopt interim rules and regulations to implement P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.) and to meet the requirements for federal approval as a state plan pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq. The regulations shall be effective as regulations immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law and shall be in effect for a period not to exceed 18 months, and shall, thereafter, be amended, adopted, or readopted by the department in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act." The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall include the following:

(1) a procedure to maintain relevant information regarding land, fields, greenhouses, or any other location where hemp is produced in the State, including a legal description of the land and global positioning system coordinates, for a period of at least three calendar years;

(2) a procedure for testing, including by third parties, using post-decarboxylation or another similarly reliable method, that the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of hemp produced in the State does not exceed the federally defined THC level for hemp, and that hemp products do not exceed the federally defined THC level for hemp when made available to the public;

(3) provisions that permit a hemp producer to begin harvest of mature hemp plants within 30 days after the date of sampling, provided that the department may require any plant that is not harvested within 30 days after sampling to undergo retesting;

(4) provisions that allow a hemp producer to have testing performed by a third-party laboratory to demonstrate compliance with the federally defined THC level for hemp, provided the laboratory:

(a) is registered and accredited in accordance with State and federal law;

(b) is registered with the State hemp program;

(c) agrees to comply with the department's approved testing procedures;

(d) transmits laboratory results directly to the department; and

(e) submits to random quality assurance testing by the department to validate the accuracy of testing results;

(5) provisions that allow a hemp producer to test its own hemp for the purposes of providing information about hemp's delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol levels and to certify label statements for a hemp product, as long as the producer's laboratory meets the requirements in paragraph (4) of this subsection;

(6) a procedure for the effective disposal of hemp plants, whether growing or not, that are produced in violation of 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq., and products derived from those plants;

(7) a procedure to comply with the enforcement procedures in section 7 of P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-12), pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639p, and to provide due process for hemp producers;

(8) a procedure for conducting annual inspections of, at a minimum, a random sample of hemp producers to verify that hemp is not produced in violation of 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq.; and

(9) a procedure for submitting the information described in 7 U.S.C. s.1639q, as applicable, to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture not later than 30 days after the date the information is received.

c. Upon adoption of rules and regulations pursuant to subsection b. of this section, subsection c. of section 6, and subsection c. of section 7 of P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-12), the department, after consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, shall submit the rules and regulations, along with P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.), for approval to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture as a state plan for monitoring and regulating the production of hemp in the State pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq.

d. (1) If the plan submitted by the department is disapproved by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the department, after consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, shall amend the rules promulgated pursuant to P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.) as needed to obtain approval and shall thereafter submit an amended plan.

(2) The department shall, as necessary, consult with and seek technical assistance from the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture in crafting a satisfactory state plan pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639o et seq.

(3) If a plan submitted by the department is disapproved by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, nothing in P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.) shall prohibit the production of hemp in the State pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s1639q or any other federal law, or rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, if the production of hemp is not otherwise prohibited by the State.

(4) As part of the State plan adopted pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the department shall also submit a certification that the State has the resources and personnel to implement the practices and procedures as provided in P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-6 et al.), pursuant to 7 U.S.C. s.1639p.

L.2019, c.238, s.5.