After an hour and a half of debate on the Senate floor, Senate Bill (SB) 3 is engrossed. The bill received 24 ayes and 7 nos.
Senators who support the bill told stories of children and young adults losing all function after ingesting products containing intoxicating hemp. They emphasized how important it is for law enforcement officers to be able to immediately tell whether a product is illegal during a traffic stop, rather than make an assumption.
Opponents of the bill requested regulation instead of a total ban and raised the issue of veterans and other individuals who rely on these products rather than relying on alcohol and opioids for relief. Senator Charles Perry assured them that physician-prescribed hemp products will be more accessible under the Texas Compassionate-Use Program after a corresponding bill—SB 1505—is introduced and passes this Legislative Session.
SB 3 will advance with three amendments incorporated. Each of the three amendments were read into the bill by its author, Senator Perry.
Amendment #1 requires all consumable hemp products be tested in Texas with Drug Enforcement Administration oversight before going to market.
Amendment #2 requires a store owner to register all products with the Department of State Health Services (“DSHS”). Owners must pay $500 per product and include a QR code which links to the item on the DSHS registry; the website will list all ingredients and notify consumers whether the product is legal or not. Additionally, this Amendment makes it a Class B Misdemeanor to sell a product containing any synthetic THC or other mind-altering chemical.
Amendment #3 makes it a third-degree felony to operate a hemp shop without a license or registration permit from DSHS.
A fourth amendment, introduced by Senator Sarah Eckhardt (D – Austin) would have retained the regulatory process of SB 3, but removed the clause limiting legal products to CBD and CBG. Senator Eckhardt stated that the bill went too far by banning safe, low-THC products. Senator Perry publicly objected to the Amendment before it failed in a 4 aye-24 no vote.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick stated that, in his 17 years in the Texas Legislature, SB 3 was among the “Top Five” most important. To those businesses that may shut down because of SB 3, Senator Perry stated they “brought this on themselves by getting cute and abusing the Farm Bill.”
A companion House bill to SB 3 is forthcoming.