2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 76 - Agriculture
Article 24 - Industrial Hemp Research and Development Program
Section 76-24-1 - Industrial hemp research and development program; New Mexico department of agriculture.
A. As used in this section:
(1) "board" means the board of regents of New Mexico state university; and
(2) "industrial hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the board through the New Mexico department of agriculture shall institute and administer an industrial hemp research and development program to allow persons and institutions of higher education to grow industrial hemp for the purpose of studying the growth, cultivation and marketing of industrial hemp in New Mexico or any other purpose allowed by federal regulation or law.
C. The board on behalf of the New Mexico department of agriculture shall develop and promulgate rules to establish and carry out the industrial hemp research and development program. The board may develop and promulgate rules regarding requirements for participation, the issuance of permits, inspections, recordkeeping, program compliance or program participation fees; provided that any required program participation fees shall not exceed administrative costs.
D. The cultivation of industrial hemp shall be subject to and comply with the rules promulgated by the board on behalf of the New Mexico department of agriculture pursuant to this section.
E. The board shall establish a "New Mexico industrial hemp research and development fund". The fund consists of revenue collected by the New Mexico department of agriculture in administration of the industrial hemp research and development program, donations, grants and income earned from investment of the fund and money otherwise accruing to the fund. Money in the fund shall not revert to any other fund at the end of a fiscal year. The board shall administer the fund, and money in the fund is appropriated to the board for the New Mexico department of agriculture to administer the industrial hemp research and development program and related programs. Money in the fund shall be disbursed on warrants signed by the board pursuant to vouchers signed by the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture or the director's authorized representative.
History: Laws 2017, ch. 139, § 1.
Effective dates. — Laws 2017, ch. 139 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 16, 2017, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.
Compiler's notes. — HLEDC/House Bills 144, 154 & 280, enacted by the Fifty-Third Legislature, First Session, 2017, was vetoed by the governor on March 8, 2017. Pursuant to the First Judicial District Court's decision in State ex rel. New Mexico Legislative Council v. Honorable Susana Martinez, Governor of the State of New Mexico et al., D-101-CV-2017-01550, and affirmed by S.Ct. Order No. S-1-SC-36731, on April 25, 2018, which held that Article IV, Section 22 of the New Mexico Constitution requires that objections must accompany a returned bill, HLEDC/House Bills 144, 154 & 280, was chaptered into law by the Secretary of State.
