Speaker Stumbo: No Vote For Hemp Bill This Session

FRANKFORT, Ky. - A bill regulating hemp production in Kentucky appears to be dead in the state House for the 2013 General Assembly session. House Speaker Greg Stumbo told reporters Monday morning that time had run out for Senate Bill 50, which was approved by the Republican-led Senate last month.

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The hemp bill was championed by a cast of Republicans including Agricultural Commissioner James Comer and Kentucky U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. SB 50 would have created a framework for licensing hemp growers in the state should the federal government rescind its ban on industrial hemp production.

The Herald-Leader reports that Speaker Stumbo has called the bill unnecessary because state law already requires Kentucky to adopt federal regulations regarding hemp farming. Advocates of the bill say it’s important to lay the groundwork for what could be a job-creating industry in the state.