Wisconsin Senate schedules Hemp Bill floor vote for Nov. 7

Posted: November 4, 2017 by Gary Storck
Category: Hemp

Hemp, Politics

Wisconsin Senate schedules Hemp Bill floor vote for Nov. 7

November 4, 2017 Gary Storck Leave a comment Edit

It has been 60 years since Wisconsin farmers legally grew hemp, but it looks like that may change soon as hemp legislation takes another big step forward. Wisconsin Senate Bill 119, the bipartisan-sponsored GOP-authored industrial hemp bill has been scheduled for a vote by the full Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday Nov. 7, according to the office on Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), the bill’s senate sponsor.

Previously, SB119 passed out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Small Business and Tourism on a unanimous 9-0 vote on Oct. 18.

The Assembly companion bill to SB119, AB183 has yet to receive a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Agriculture. A Nov. 1 article in the Crawford County Independent, “Momentum gathers in state for industrial hemp,” reported concerns by Beau Stafford, Policy Development Director for Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), that the bill may simply run out of time as the Assembly is planning an early adjournment.”

Sen. Testin’s office did not agree with that assessment and indicated that after it passed the Senate they would do everything in their power to get it heard in the Assembly, passed out of the Assembly Ag committee and set for an Assembly floor vote before adjournment for the session. They are very confident it will pass the Senate Nov. 7.

Cannabadger also reached out to the office of Rep. Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum), the Assembly author of the bill and they confirmed the Nov. 7 senate floor vote and said they expected an Assembly public hearing would be held in the next two weeks, and indicated they are working hard to wrap everything up so the full Assembly can schedule AB183 for a vote as soon as possible.

Tuesday’s Senate session is scheduled to be carried live on Wisconsin Eye starting at 11am.

On 11/3/2017 Senator Testin also offered Sen. Senate Substitute Amendment 1. The Amendment is a revised version of the bill. It was passed in a committee and sent back to the floor for a vote.

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