Wyoming Senators Override Committee To Save Hemp + CBD Bill
One day after the Wyoming Senate Appropriations Committee effectively defunded a bill to regulate the production of hemp and CBD, State Senators overturned the amendment, passed a second reading, and paved the way for a final vote next week.
House Bill 171 originally allocated $315,000 for state testing of hemp and CBD products in compliance with the 2018 federal Farm Bill that legalized hemp and CBD products around the country.
After passing the state House of Representatives by a vote of 60-0, the legislation appeared to go up in smoke on Thursday when the Senate committee approved an amendment to outsource the testing of hemp and CBD products to a private company. Since federal law requires states to conduct the testing themselves, the amendment would have, in effect, prevented prevent hemp companies from doing business in Wyoming.
Now that the Senate has restored funding for the state to test and regulate hemp products, the third and final reading of the bill is scheduled for Monday and is expected to become law, pending approval from Governor Mark Gordon.