89R3575 LHC-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 2155
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a prohibition on the sale, transfer, or delivery of
consumable hemp products; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 443, Health and Safety
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 443. [MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, AND] SALE, TRANSFER, OR
DELIVERY OF CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCTS PROHIBITED
SECTION 2. Section 443.001(1), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Consumable hemp product" means food, a drug, a
device, or a cosmetic, as those terms are defined by Section
431.002, that contains hemp or one or more hemp-derived
cannabinoids, including cannabidiol. The term does not include
low-THC cannabis regulated under Chapter 487.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 443, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 443.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 443.0015. OFFENSE: SALE, TRANSFER, OR DELIVERY OF
CONSUMABLE HEMP PRODUCTS. (a) A person commits an offense if the
person:
(1) sells, offers for sale, transfers, or delivers a
consumable hemp product; or
(2) provides a consumable hemp product by courier,
delivery, or mail service.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
SECTION 4. Section 121.003(a), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The department, after consulting with the governor and
attorney general, shall develop a state plan to monitor and
regulate the production of hemp in this state. The plan must comply
with:
(1) 7 U.S.C. Section 1639p; and
(2) Chapter 122[; and
[(3) Chapter 443, Health and Safety Code].
SECTION 5. Section 122.001(3), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(3) "Handle" means to possess or store a hemp plant:
(A) on premises owned, operated, or controlled by
a license holder for any period of time; or
(B) in a vehicle for any period of time other than
during the actual transport of the plant from a premises owned,
operated, or controlled by a license holder to[:
[(i)] a premises owned, operated, or
controlled by another license holder[; or
[(ii) a person licensed under Chapter 443,
Health and Safety Code].
SECTION 6. Section 122.101, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 122.101. LICENSE REQUIRED[; EXCEPTIONS]. A [(a)
Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] person or the person's
agent may not cultivate or handle hemp in this state or transport
hemp outside of this state unless the person holds a license under
this subchapter.
[(b) A person is not required to hold a license under this
subchapter to manufacture a consumable hemp product in accordance
with Subtitle A, Title 6, Health and Safety Code.]
SECTION 7. Section 122.301(b), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A state agency may not authorize a person to manufacture
a product containing hemp for smoking[, as defined by Section
443.001, Health and Safety Code]. In this subsection, "smoking"
means burning or igniting a substance and inhaling the smoke or
heating a substance and inhaling the resulting vapor or aerosol.
SECTION 8. Section 411.110(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The Department of State Health Services and the Health
and Human Services Commission are entitled to obtain criminal
history record information as provided by Subsection (a-1) that
relates to a person who is:
(1) an applicant for a license or certificate under
Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code, an owner or manager of an
applicant for an emergency medical services provider license under
that chapter, or the holder of a license or certificate under that
chapter;
(2) an applicant for a license or a license holder
under Subchapter I, L, or N, Chapter 431, Health and Safety Code;
(3) an applicant for employment at or current employee
of:
(A) a public health hospital as defined by
Section 13.033, Health and Safety Code; or
(B) the South Texas Health Care System;
(4) an applicant for employment at, current employee
of, or person who contracts or may contract to provide goods or
services with the Council on Sex Offender Treatment or other
division or component of the Health and Human Services Commission
that monitors sexually violent predators as described by Section
841.003(a), Health and Safety Code; or
(5) authorized to access vital records or the vital
records electronic registration system under Chapter 191, Health
and Safety Code, including an employee of or contractor for the
Department of State Health Services, a local registrar, a medical
professional, or a funeral director[; or
[(6) an applicant for a license or a license holder
under Subchapter C, Chapter 443, Health and Safety Code].
SECTION 9. Section 431.043, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 431.043. ACCESS TO RECORDS. A person who is required
to maintain records under this chapter or Section 519 or 520(g) of
the federal Act or a person who is in charge or custody of those
records shall, at the request of the department or a health
authority, permit the department or health authority at all
reasonable times access to and to copy and verify the records[,
including records that verify that the hemp in a consumable hemp
product was produced in accordance with Chapter 122, Agriculture
Code, or 7 U.S.C. Chapter 38, Subchapter VII].
SECTION 10. Section 60.002, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 60.002. REQUIREMENTS FOR DIGITAL LICENSES. (a) In
this section, "QR code" means a quick response machine-readable
code that can be read by a camera, consisting of an array of black
and white squares used for storing information or directing or
leading a user to additional information.
(b) A licensing authority that issues an occupational
license may issue a digital license to a license holder. If the
licensing authority issues a digital license, the digital license
must comply with the following requirements:
(1) the digital license must be in a secure format and
readily accessible by the license holder through an Internet
website and on a wireless communication device;
(2) the public must be able to view a license holder's
digital license through an Internet website or by using a QR code
[as defined by Section 443.001, Health and Safety Code]; and
(3) if the authority contracts with a vendor for the
issuance of a digital license, the digital license must be in a
format in which the vendor and authority can verify the validity of
the license.
SECTION 11. The following provisions of the Health and
Safety Code are repealed:
(1) Section 431.011;
(2) Section 431.2211(a-3);
(3) the heading to Subchapter A, Chapter 443;
(4) Sections 443.001(2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9),
(10), and (11);
(5) Sections 443.002, 443.003, and 443.004; and
(6) Subchapters B, C, D, and E, Chapter 443.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.