HSB 572

Description

House File 2237 relates to the prohibition of possessing, using, manufacturing, marketing, transporting, delivering, or distributing harvested hemp or a hemp product if the intended use of such harvested hemp or hemp product is introduction into the body of a human or animal through any method of inhalation. This includes methods using cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, and pipes, and smoke from combustion and vapor devices. Prohibition of such activity is not applicable to any extent that the federal government, including the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, allows for the use of harvested hemp or a hemp product by method of inhalation. House File 2237 also provides that a person who violates the prohibition of ingesting harvested hemp or a hemp product through the methods mentioned above is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $2,500, as imposed, assessed, and collected by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (DALS).

House File 2237 is to be implemented on the same date as 2019 Iowa Acts, ch. 130 (Iowa Hemp Act) and is effective upon enactment.

Background

House File 2237 amends provisions of Senate File 599 (Iowa Hemp Act), as enacted in 2019, including associated provisions of new Iowa Code chapter 204. Senate File 599 authorized the production of sativa L., a certain type of cannabis, as well as the manufacture, sale, and transportation of hemp products if such products contain no more than 0.3% of a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

The federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, included provisions authorizing the production of hemp, allowing states and tribes to assume primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp by submitting a plan of approval by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). At this time, the USDA has not approved or denied Iowa’s state plan. The Iowa Hemp Act is to be implemented on the publication date of the Iowa Administrative Bulletin that includes an approval statement of Iowa’s state plan from the USDA.

A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $315 but not more than $1,875.

Assumptions

• The following will not change over the projection period: charge, conviction, and sentencing patterns and trends; prisoner length of stay; revocation rates; plea bargaining; and other criminal justice system policies and practices.
• A lag effect of six months is assumed from the effective date of this Bill to the date of first entry of affected offenders into the correctional system.
• Marginal costs for county jails cannot be estimated due to a lack of data. For purposes of this analysis, the marginal cost for county jails is assumed to be $50 per day.

Correctional Impact

The correctional impact of HF 2237 cannot be determined. The Bill establishes a new offense, and the number of convictions cannot be estimated.

The table below shows estimates for sentencing to State prison, parole, probation, or Community-Based Corrections (CBC) residential facilities; length of stay (LOS) under those supervisions; and supervision marginal costs per day for all convictions of a serious misdemeanor. Refer to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) memo addressed to the General Assembly, Cost Estimates Used for Correctional Impact Statements, dated January 16, 2020, for information related to the correctional system.

Sentencing Estimates

Minority Impact

The minority impact of HF 2237 is unknown. Refer to the LSA memo addressed to the General Assembly, Minority Impact Statement, dated January 15, 2020, for information related to minorities in the criminal justice system.

Fiscal Impact

House File 2237 establishes a new criminal offense, and the resulting cost to the Justice System cannot be estimated. The average State cost for one serious misdemeanor conviction ranges from $410 to $4,900. This estimate includes operating costs incurred by the Judicial Branch, the State Public Defender, and the Department of Corrections for one conviction. The cost would be incurred across multiple fiscal years for prison and parole supervision. Any revenue collected as a result of the civil penalty established by HF 2237 will be deposited in the General Fund, but is expected to be minimal.Conviction

Offense

Class

Percent

to

Prison

FY 19

Avg

Length

of Stay

Prison

(months) FY 19

Marginal

Cost/Day

Prison

FY 19 Avg

Length of

Stay

Probation

(months) FY 19 Avg

Cost/Day

Probation

Percent

to CBC FY 19

Avg

Length

of Stay

Parole

(months) FY 19

Marginal

Cost/Day

Parole

Percent

to

County

Jail

Marginal

Cost/Day

Serious

Misdemeanor 2.0% 5 $20.38 13.4 $6.12 1.0% 2.4 6.12 69.0% $50.00

Sources

• Legislative Services Agency
• Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division, Department of Human Rights
• Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Public Safety