BOISE — The Idaho House State Affairs Committee on March 11 voted 8-7 to hold the hemp bill — effectively killing it as the legislative session winds down.

The hemp industry had expressed concern with Senate Bill 1345, which would have legalized industrial production of the crop in Idaho.

Farmers and production-agriculture advocates supported the bill as necessary in getting the state started in producing hemp, which they said shows promise as a rotation crop.

But hemp-industry representatives who have experience where the crop is legal gave the bill mixed reviews.

SB 1345 would have authorized the state Department of Agriculture to develop a USDA-compliant hemp plan, which industry representatives supported.

They were less enthusiastic about the bill’s transportation standards, included partly in response to Gov. Brad Little’s November 2019 executive order authorizing hemp transportation until the Legislature passes a permanent solution.

Dennis Shaver, a former grocer who in the past two years has helped to organize hemp groups in Colorado, recommended Idaho get involved with hemp — but not with what appears to be a “law-enforcement” rather than “agriculture” bill.

SB 1345 looks like a compromise with law enforcement, he said, ascribing to that sector tasks already covered by USDA hemp rules. And the bill likely would make it difficult to process and sell the crop in the state, he said.

Hari Heath, who lives in Benewah County, Idaho, and grows hemp in nearby Washington, said hemp-handling steps reduce tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels to federally compliant levels, but SB 1345’s language appears to preclude processing.

The bill is “unworkable and unfixable,” he said. “I would rather see us get something right than get something we need to fix later.”

Bonny Jo Peterson of the Industrial Hemp Association of Washington said the bill appears not to allow sales, which means Idaho would not get that economic benefit or the opportunity to bring high-quality seed genetics to the industry’s grain and fiber segments.

Randy Cox of Meridian, representing the Hemp Industries Association, said that under the bill  state testing would guarantee hemp meets December 2018 federal Farm Bill requirements that it contain no more than 0.3% THC.

However, “ISDA needs to be at the lead. I don’t like the law-enforcement part of it.”

Hemp would be a good crop in Idaho, he said, partly because the southwest region already is one of the world’s major producers of seed crops and has a large hop industry that could benefit from additional processing opportunities.

Clint Shock, a retired Oregon State University plant physiologist now in the hemp industry in Ontario, Ore., said the 0.3% THC maximum refers to psychoactive compound Delta-9 THC, which the bill does not specify. Idaho thus would be allowed to produce “fundamentally poor-quality flowers” only.

Earlier, the Idaho Senate passed SB 1345. Unlike legislation that failed last year, it did not address cannabidiol (CBD) oil, a hemp extract associated with various wellness benefits.