HB459 (2019) Detail

(Second New Title) defining hemp, relative to its growth and use in New Hampshire, establishing a committee to study the federal guidelines on growing hemp, and relative to costs of care for animals seized in animal cruelty cases and prohibiting the future ownership of animals in certain animal cruelty cases.


CHAPTER 306

HB 459-FN - FINAL VERSION

 

19Mar2019... 0790h

05/23/2019   1976s

05/23/2019   2258s

27Jun2019... 2614-CofC

27Jun2019... 2661-EBA

2019 SESSION

19-0278

08/10

 

HOUSE BILL 459-FN

 

AN ACT defining hemp, relative to its growth and use in New Hampshire, establishing a committee to study the federal guidelines on growing hemp, and relative to costs of care for animals seized in animal cruelty cases and prohibiting the future ownership of animals in certain animal cruelty cases.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Bixby, Straf. 17; Rep. Gagne, Hills. 13; Rep. Pearl, Merr. 26; Rep. Knirk, Carr. 3; Rep. O'Connor, Rock. 6; Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Sen. Giuda, Dist 2; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21

 

COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture

 

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 

AMENDED ANALYSIS

 

This bill:

 

I.  Defines "hemp."

 

II.  Allows for the growth of hemp in New Hampshire.

 

III.  Establishes a study committee to study the federal guidelines on growing hemp.

 

IV.  Establishes a study committee to study the federal guidelines on growing industrial hemp.

 

V.  Further defines the meaning of priority on the calendar for animal cruelty cases in which animals must be held for the duration of a criminal prosecution.

 

VI.  Clarifies the process for a defendant to post bond after conviction in order to retain a legal interest in the animals through the appeals process.

 

VII.  Further defines the court's ability to ban a person convicted of animal cruelty from owning animals.

 

VIII.  Requires dogs, cats, and ferrets to be transferred with a health certificate.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

19Mar2019... 0790h

05/23/2019   1976s

05/23/2019   2258s

27Jun2019... 2614-CofC

27Jun2019... 2661-EBA 19-0278

08/10

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen

 

AN ACT defining hemp, relative to its growth and use in New Hampshire, establishing a committee to study the federal guidelines on growing hemp, and relative to costs of care for animals seized in animal cruelty cases and prohibiting the future ownership of animals in certain animal cruelty cases.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

306:1  Findings.  The general court finds:

I.  Hemp has been continuously cultivated for millennia, is accepted and available in the global marketplace, and has numerous beneficial, practical, and economic uses, including:  high-strength fiber, textiles, clothing, bio-fuel, paper products, protein-rich food containing essential fatty acids and amino acids, biodegradable plastics, resins, nontoxic medicinal and cosmetic products, construction materials, rope, and value-added crafts.

II.  The many agriculturally and environmentally beneficial uses of hemp include:  livestock feed and bedding, stream buffering, erosion control, water and soil purification, and weed control.

III.  The hemp plant, an annual herbaceous plant with a long slender stem ranging in height from 4 to 15 feet and a stem diameter of ¼ to ¾ of an inch is morphologically distinctive and readily identifiable as an agricultural crop grown for the cultivation and harvesting of its fiber and seed.

IV.  Hemp cultivation will enable the state of New Hampshire to accelerate economic growth and job creation and promote environmental stewardship.

306:2  New Chapter; Hemp.  Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 439 the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 439-A

HEMP

439-A:1  Purpose.  The intent of this chapter is to define hemp so that farmers and other businesses in the New Hampshire agricultural industry can take advantage of this market opportunity afforded by the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018.

439-A:2  Definitions.  In this chapter:

I.  "Cannabidiol" or "CBD" is a phytocannabinoid extracted from hemp plants.

II.  “Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food.

III.  “Department” means the department of agriculture, markets, and food.

IV.  “Hemp products” means all products made from hemp, including cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper, construction materials, plastics, seed, seed meal, seed oil, and certified seed for cultivation.

V.  “Hemp” means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (THC) of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.

439-A:3  Hemp Permitted.  Hemp is an agricultural product which may be grown as a crop, processed, possessed, and commercially traded in New Hampshire.  Any grower, processor, or commercial trader of hemp shall be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture.

306:3  Controlled Drug Act; Marijuana; Hemp Exception.  Amend RSA 318-B:2-c, I(a) to read as follows:

(a)  "Marijuana" includes the leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds of all species of the plant genus cannabis, but shall not include the resin extracted from any part of such plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation from such resin including hashish, and further, shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks, fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.  Marijuana shall not include hemp grown, processed, marketed, or sold under RSA 439-A.  

306:4  Therapeutic Cannabis; Hemp Excepted.  Amend 126-X:1, III to read as follows:

III.  "Cannabis" means all parts of any plant of the Cannabis genus of plants, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin.  Such term shall not include the mature stalks of such plants, fiber produced from such stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of such plants, any other compound, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seeds of such plants which are incapable of germination.  In this chapter, cannabis shall not include hemp grown, processed, marketed, or sold under RSA 439-A.

306:5  Committee Established.  There is established a committee to study the administrative mechanisms for permitting growing hemp in New Hampshire consistent with the federal Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 and determining labeling requirements for hemp products sold in New Hampshire.

306:6  Membership and Compensation.

I.  The members of the committee shall be as follows:

(a)  Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(b)  One member of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.

II.  Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.

306:7  Duties.  The committee shall:

I.  Review the statutes relating to hemp in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 and the United States Department of Agriculture rules and guidelines for states choosing to license the growing, processing, marketing, and sale of hemp and hemp products.

II.  Determine whether it is preferable for the state of New Hampshire to establish a state level oversight program for hemp within the department of agriculture, markets, and food or to request the federal government to oversee hemp production in New Hampshire.

III.  Determine labeling requirements for hemp products in New Hampshire, and in particular, those products that may be intended for human consumption or for application to human skin and further, determine what department would be charged with oversight of labeling, and determine enforcement policies.

306:8  Chairperson; Quorum.  The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members.  The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member.  The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section.  Three members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.

306:9  Report.  The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2019.

306:10  Animal Cruelty.  RSA 644:8, IV is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

IV.(a)(1)  Any person charged with animal cruelty under paragraphs III or III-a may have his or her animals confiscated by the arresting officer.  

(2)  A person charged under this section may petition the court to seek an examination of the animals by a veterinarian licensed under RSA 332-B of his or her choice at the expense of the person charged.

(3)  Courts shall give cases in which animals have been confiscated by an arresting officer priority on the court calendar.   In cases in which animals have been confiscated by an arresting officer or his or her agency, a status hearing shall be held by the court within 14 days of the confiscation of the animals.

(4)  Any person with proof of sole ownership or co-ownership of an animal confiscated by an arresting officer in an animal cruelty case and who is not a defendant or party of interest in the criminal case may petition the court for temporary custody of the animal.  The court shall give such person priority for temporary custody of the animal if the court determines it is in the best interest of the animal's health, safety, and wellbeing.

(5)  No custodian of an animal confiscated under this section shall spay or neuter or otherwise permanently alter the confiscated animal in his or her custody pending final disposition of the court case unless a treating veterinarian deems such procedure necessary to save the life of the animal.

(6)  Upon a person's conviction of cruelty to animals, the court shall dispose of the confiscated animal in any manner it decides except in a case in which the confiscated animal is owned or co-owned by persons other than the defendant.  If the defendant does not have an ownership interest in the confiscated animal, the court shall give priority to restoring full ownership rights to any person with proof of ownership if the court determines that such is in the best interest of the animal's health, safety, and wellbeing.  If the confiscated animal is co-owned by the defendant, the court shall give priority to transferring the defendant's interest in the property to the remaining owner or co-owners equitably if the court determines that such is in the best interest of the animal's health, safety, and wellbeing.

(7)  The costs to provide the confiscated animals with humane care and adequate and necessary veterinary services, if any, incurred in boarding and treating the animal, pending disposition of the case, and in disposing of the animal upon a conviction of said person for cruelty to animals, shall be borne by the person so convicted in accordance with rules adopted by the department of agriculture, markets, and food.  

(b)   In addition, the court may prohibit any person convicted of a misdemeanor offense of animal cruelty under RSA 644:8, RSA 644:8-aa, RSA 644:8-b, RSA 644:8-c, or RSA 644:8-d, or violation of RSA 644:8-f from having future ownership or custody of, or residing with other animals for any period of time the court deems reasonable or impose any other reasonable restrictions on the person's future ownership or custody of animals as necessary for the protection of the animals.   The court shall prohibit or limit any person convicted of a felony offense of animal cruelty under RSA 644:8 or a misdemeanor or felony offense of bestiality under RSA 644:8-g from having future ownership or custody of other animals for a minimum of 5 years, and may impose any other reasonable restrictions on the person's future ownership or custody of, or residing or having contact with animals as necessary for the protection of the animals.   For the purposes of this paragraph, a reasonable restriction on future contact may include limiting a person from engaging in any employment in the care of animals or other similar contact as the court sees fit.  Any animal involved in a violation of a court order prohibiting or limiting ownership or custody of animals shall be subject to immediate forfeiture.  Any person violating such order may, in addition to being held in criminal contempt of court or subject to a probation violation, be fined in the amount of $1,000 in any court of competent jurisdiction for each animal held in unlawful ownership or custody.  

(c)   If a person convicted of any offense of cruelty to animals appeals the conviction in an initial de novo or subsequent appeal and any confiscated animal remains in the custody of the arresting officer, the arresting officer's agency,  or the arresting officer's agency's designee pending disposition of the appeal, in order for the defendant or appellant to maintain a future interest in the animal, the trial or appellate court, after consideration of the income of the defendant or appellant, may require the defendant or appellant to post a bond or other security in an amount not exceeding $2,000 for each animal in custody for costs expected to be incurred for the board and care of the animal during the trial, trial de novo, or appeal.  Such bond or security shall be posted to the court within 30 days.   If such bond or security is not paid within 30 days after the court orders the bond or security to be posted, the animals shall be forfeited to the arresting officer, the arresting officer's agency, or the arresting officer's agency's designee.  The court may, for good cause, extend the deadline by no more than 15 days.  If the conviction is affirmed on appeal, the costs incurred for the board and care of the animal, from the date the animal or animals were originally confiscated, shall be paid to the custodial agency from the posted security and the balance, if any, shall be returned to the person who posted it.  A court shall order the return of any bond or security upon a court approved agreement of the parties, a finding of not guilty, or the reversal of a conviction, unless it is a reversal with remand for further proceeding.   

306:11  New Paragraph; Health Certificates for Dogs, Cats, and Ferrets.  Amend RSA 437:8 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:

  VI.   No dog, cat, or ferret shall be offered for transfer by a licensee or by any individual without first being protected against infectious diseases using a vaccine approved by the state veterinarian.   No dog, cat, or ferret shall be offered for transfer by a licensee or by any individual unless accompanied by an official health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian.   No transfer shall occur unless the transferred animal is accompanied by a health certificate issued within the prior 14 days.  The certificate shall be in triplicate, one copy of which shall be retained by the signing veterinarian, one copy of which shall be for the licensee's records, and one copy of which shall be given to the transferee upon transfer as provided in paragraph III.   If an official health certificate is produced, it shall be prima facie evidence of transfer.  The signing veterinarian shall provide a copy of the health certificate to the department of agriculture, markets, and food upon request.  

306:12  Rulemaking; Authority; Care of Animals in Custody.  Amend RSA 437:9, IV and V to read as follows:

IV.  Notice and hearing on the refusal to issue or the revocation of a license; [and]

V.  Setting limits for reasonable daily boarding and care costs for animals confiscated under RSA 644:8, IV.

[V.] VI.  Any other matter the commissioner may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subdivision.

306:13  Effective Date.

I.  Sections 10-12 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2020.

II.  The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

 

Approved: July 30, 2019

Effective Date:

I. Sections 10-12 shall take effect January 1, 2020.

II. Remainder shall take effect July 30, 2019.

 

 

Links


Date Body Type
Feb. 26, 2019 House Hearing
March 5, 2019 House Exec Session
House Floor Vote
March 19, 2019 House Floor Vote
April 23, 2019 Senate Hearing
May 23, 2019 Senate Floor Vote
June 27, 2019 Senate Floor Vote
June 27, 2019 Senate Floor Vote
June 27, 2019 House Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB459 Revision: 6640 Date: Dec. 4, 2019, 9:24 a.m.
HB459 Revision: 6451 Date: July 12, 2019, 2:05 p.m.
HB459 Revision: 6069 Date: May 24, 2019, 2:41 p.m.
HB459 Revision: 5582 Date: April 30, 2019, 2:36 p.m.
HB459 Revision: 4671 Date: Jan. 10, 2019, 3:09 p.m.

Docket


July 30, 2019: Signed by Governor Sununu 07/30/2019; Chapter 306; I. Sec. 1-12 Eff: 01/01/2020 II. Rem. Eff: 07/30/2019


June 27, 2019: Enrolled 06/27/2019 HJ 20 P. 59


June 27, 2019: Enrolled (In recess 06/27/2019); SJ 21


June 27, 2019: Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2019-2661e: AA VV 06/27/2019 HJ 20 P. 56


June 27, 2019: Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2019-2661e Adopted, VV, (In recess of 06/27/2019); SJ 21


June 27, 2019: Conference Committee Report 2614c: Adopted, VV 06/27/2019 HJ 20 P. 32


June 27, 2019: Conference Committee Report # 2019-2614c, Adopted, VV; 06/27/2019; SJ 21


June 27, 2019: Conference Committee Report Filed, # 2019-2614c; 06/27/2019


: Conferee Change; Senator Watters Replaces Senator Feltes; SJ 21


June 19, 2019: Conference Committee Meeting: 06/19/2019 10:00 am LOB 303


June 6, 2019: President Appoints: Senators Fuller Clark, Feltes, Bradley; (In Recess 06/06/2019); SJ 20


June 6, 2019: Sen. Fuller Clark Accedes to House Request for Committee of Conference, MA, VV; (In recess 06/06/2019); SJ 20


June 6, 2019: Speaker Appoints: Reps. Gourgue, Bixby, Pearl, Cushing 06/06/2019 HJ 18 P. 41


June 6, 2019: House Non-Concurs with Senate Amendment 2019-2258s and 2019-1976s and Requests CofC (Rep. Gourgue): MA VV 06/06/2019 HJ 18 P. 41


May 23, 2019: Ought to Pass with Amendments 2019-1976s and 2019-2258s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/23/2019; SJ 17


May 23, 2019: Sen. Bradley Floor Amendment # 2019-2258s, AA, VV; 05/23/2019; SJ 17


May 23, 2019: Committee Amendment # 2019-1976s, AA, VV; 05/23/2019; SJ 17


May 23, 2019: Special Order to to the present time, Without Objection, MA; 05/23/2019; SJ 17


May 23, 2019: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2019-1976s, 05/23/2019; SC 23


April 23, 2019: Hearing: 04/23/2019, Room 103, SH, 10:30 am; SC 19


March 28, 2019: Introduced 03/28/2019 and Referred to Energy and Natural Resources; SJ 12


March 19, 2019: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2019-0790h (NT): MA VV 03/19/2019 HJ 10 P. 19


March 19, 2019: Amendment # 2019-0790h (NT): AA VV 03/19/2019 HJ 10 P. 19


March 19, 2019: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2019-0790h (NT) for 03/19/2019 (Vote 20-0; CC) HC 16 P. 8


: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2019-0790h (NT) (Vote 20-0; CC)


March 5, 2019: Executive Session: 03/05/2019 10:30 am LOB 303


Feb. 26, 2019: Public Hearing: 02/26/2019 10:00 am LOB 203


Jan. 3, 2019: Introduced 01/03/2019 and referred to Environment and Agriculture HJ 3 P. 15