State Senate unanimously passes Sen. Shelley Hughes’ industrial hemp bill

Sen. Shelley Hughes’ Senate Bill 27, a bill allowing for more business opportunities for industrial hemp, was unanimously passed by the state Senate Tuesday, May 11

The bill allows the state to maintain an industrial hemp program, converting what is now a pilot into a permanent program, which will allow development of a new commerce of Alaska-grown and manufactured hemp products.

Hemp is used for a wide variety of products including clothing, medicinals, animal food, biomass. It is also an ancient crop, grown to make rope for sailing ships.

A number of Alaska farmers planted hemp last year under the pilot program and more are expected this year. Several growers were in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough but hemp was also grown on the Kenai Peninsula and the Delta area of eastern Interior Alaska.

Hemp grows fast and is suited to northern climates. It is an agricultural crop that can be grown statewide although Southcentral and Interior Alaska offer the best conditions, according to the state Division of Agriculture.

In 2018, the Legislature passed a bill that established a state Industrial Hemp Pilot Program. Later that year, Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which changed the federal requirements for the industrial hemp market.

“The passage of Senate Bill 27 will not only ensure federal compliance, but will also provide agricultural and manufacturing business opportunities for hemp and help diversify our state’s economy,” said Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, the bill’s sponsor.

SB 27 has strong support in the Senate. Senate Rules Chair Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Resources Committee chair Sen. Josh Revak, R-Anch.; Judiciary chair Sen. Roger Holland, R-Anch.; and two Democrats, Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anch. and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, are cosponsors. SB 27 passed 20-0. It is now in the House Resources Committee.

A similar bill is at an advanced stage of passage in the state House. It is HB 156 by Rep. Grier Hopkins, D-Fairbanks, and is now in the House Rules Committee. HB 156 also has bipartisan support in the House, too. Republican Reps. George Rauscher of Sutton; Ken McCarty of Eagle River; Sara Rasussen and David Nelson, of Anchorage, are cosponsors along with Democrats Harriet Drummond; Liz Snyder and Calvin Schrage of Anchorage