Full Text of HR0707 102nd General Assembly
HR0707 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois is dedicated to cannabis equity in the | 3 | | regulation of industrial hemp, especially for those who have | 4 | | been negatively impacted by the criminalization of cannabis; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Illinois seeks to ensure the inclusion of two | 7 | | groups of citizens in those eligible to obtain industrial help | 8 | | licenses, those citizens with felony records related to | 9 | | cannabis and those from areas in the State that have been | 10 | | disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of | 11 | | cannabis; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, In 2020, the ACLU reported that Illinois had the | 13 | | third highest rate of bias in cannabis arrests in the United | 14 | | States; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, researchers estimated that 8% of the | 16 | | U.S. population has felony convictions, and 33% of the African | 17 | | American male population has a felony conviction; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, A study conducted by the Center for the Study of | 19 | | Economic Liberty at Arizona State University examined the | 20 | | relationship between occupational licensing laws and new crime | 21 | | recidivism; states with the highest occupational burdens, |
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| 1 | | including prohibitions on ex-prisoners receiving licenses, saw | 2 | | an increase in three-year new crime recidivism of 9.4% between | 3 | | 1997 and 2007; this is in comparison to a 2.6% average increase | 4 | | in survey states and a 4.2% decrease in states with the lowest | 5 | | occupational licensing burden; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A Blue Ribbon Commission report on marijuana | 7 | | regulations for California summarized that: "If a strategy of | 8 | | legislation is to bring current participants in the illicit | 9 | | market who are willing to comply with regulations into the | 10 | | legal market, then categorical exclusions of people who have | 11 | | in the past or are currently in the illicit market would be | 12 | | counterproductive, leaving many to continue working in the | 13 | | illicit market."; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Industrial hemp comes from the cannabis sativa | 15 | | plant; hemp and cannabis both derive from the cannabis sativa | 16 | | species and contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); hemp is used | 17 | | in clothing, paper, animal feed, and textiles; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 2015, the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program became | 19 | | effective in Illinois, which allowed researchers and | 20 | | institutions of higher education to grow hemp for educational | 21 | | purposes; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, The 2018 federal Farm Bill allows farmers and |
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| 1 | | others to plant and process hemp nationally and allowed for | 2 | | the interstate transportation of hemp products; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The 2018 Farm Bill prohibits a person convicted | 4 | | of a "felony relating to a controlled substance under State or | 5 | | federal law" from producing hemp for a 10-year period | 6 | | following the date of the conviction; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The prohibition stated in the Illinois Hemp Plan, | 8 | | approved by the USDA, only applies to a person "who has | 9 | | executive managerial control" of the entity; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, If the Illinois Department of Agriculture wants | 11 | | to maintain primary regulatory control over its hemp program, | 12 | | the Illinois Department of Agriculture must follow the federal | 13 | | requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The exclusion of persons with felony charges | 15 | | related to a controlled substance is contrary to Illinois' | 16 | | goal to include those principally affected by the | 17 | | criminalization of cannabis; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, A Farm Bill is due for consideration by the U.S. | 19 | | Congress in 2022; Congress can make changes to laws governing | 20 | | the cultivation and processing of hemp authorized by the 2018 | 21 | | Farm Bill in order to allow Illinois to continue to promote the |
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| 1 | | inclusion of those with past felonies for participation in its | 2 | | Industrial Hemp Program; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 4 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 5 | | we affirm the State's dedication to cannabis equity and | 6 | | respectfully ask members of the U.S. Congress to allow persons | 7 | | with felonies related to controlled substances to obtain | 8 | | industrial hemp licenses; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | delivered to all members of the Illinois Congressional | 11 | | Delegation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and | 12 | | the Attorney General of the United States.
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