SPRINGFIELD – Proposed rules for the regulation of industrial hemp production and processing were published today in the Secretary of State’s Illinois Register.
Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) staff have been busy drafting those proposed rules since Governor Rauner signed the Industrial Hemp Act into law in August. This new law allows individuals or corporations licensed through IDOA to cultivate industrial hemp. IDOA will also register individuals or corporations that will process industrial hemp.
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Now that the proposed rules have been published, IDOA is accepting comments during a 45-day First Notice public comment period. The proposed rules will then be considered by lawmakers at a Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR, committee hearing. As soon as the rules are finalized and approved by JCAR, IDOA will begin accepting applications for industrial hemp licenses and registrations.
Click here to read the proposed industrial hemp rules and for instructions to submit public comments.
Click here to listen to an interview with Jeff Cox, Bureau Chief of IDOA’s Bureau of Medicinal Plants, on the industrial hemp regulation process and the future of this new commodity in the Illinois agriculture industry.
