The Current Status of Assembly Bill 228 (“AB-228”)
AB-228, the long-awaited bill that would legalize the manufacture and sale of food, beverages, and cosmetics containing hemp, is finally being voted on this Friday (August 30, 2019) by the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Currently, the bill is in the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.
Possible Outcomes of Friday’s Vote on Assembly Bill 228
Friday’s vote on on Assembly Bill 228 will produce one of the three following results:
- AB-228 is passed to the senate for a full vote
- AB-228 is amended and passed to the senate for a full vote
- AB-228 is held under submission, which would mean that author – Assembly Member Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry – and the committee members want to edit the bill. This does not preclude the bill from being set for another hearing.
Next Steps for AB-228 After Friday’s Vote
AB-228 will likely be amended and duly passed to the Senate for a vote. The amendments, according to the author of the bill’s office, should be published on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.
The speediness of AB-228’s movement through the suspense file seems to indicate that California’s legislators intend to allow the 2020 hemp harvest to be fully utilized and present in a wide array of products.
You can read more about the specific compliance requirements included in Assembly Bill 228 for food, beverages and cosmetics containing hemp in our previous update on AB-228. If you are a current or potential industrial hemp products manufacturer or retailer and would like to get a proactive head start on compliance with the new requirements in AB-228, please contact the compliance team at Rogoway Law Group.
