The Colorado Legislature passed a bill that allows local municipalities to adopt ordinances to license and regulate businesses that engage in the storage, extraction, processing, or manufacturing of industrial hemp or industrial hemp products. The bill will become law if it is signed by Governor Jared Polis.
The new law allows counties and local municipalities to adopt a local license fee for hemp businesses and establish licensing requirements. The local municipalities may not adopt additional food safety requirements if they conflict with state laws.
The new law also requires wholesale food manufacturers that create hemp products to register with the Department of Agriculture and pay an annual fee. The Department of Agriculture must establish a stakeholder working group to study the regulation of industrial hemp products that will meet on or after December 1, 2019. The working group must provide the Colorado Legislature with written recommendations.