Contact:
Michelle Bryant (608) 266-5810
MADISON – On Thursday, Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) testified at a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Revenue and Financial Institutions on SB 188, relating to regulating hemp, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. After the hearing, Taylor released the following statement:
“We need to get this right. The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill brought with it opportunities and unintended consequences for Wisconsin’s burgeoning Hemp industry. SB 188 is a bill that will help Wisconsin update both the language and practices associated with Hemp production in the state. It’s a clean-up bill.”
“Of immediate concern to me was correcting the language in current law that has the ability to criminalize Wisconsin farmers that participate in certain aspects of the Hemp industry. Other fixes were technical, like ensuring that the state remains the primary regulator over hemp and can obtain the needed equipment and tools to aid their oversight. In addition, we need to create licensing processes for distribution, retail, and transportation, develop a testing industry, and stop others from what has been termed ‘climbing the wall’ or bringing Hemp products into Wisconsin from other states.”
“SB 188 is a great start and I appreciate working alongside Senator Testin and Representatives Considine and Kurtz to get this done.”
