Sponsors (3)
The bill gives States and Tribes more local control and preserves interstate hemp commerce, but does so at the cost of higher compliance burdens, legal complexity, and a likely patchwork of differing rules while limiting some local age-setting authority.
Small businesses and consumers retain access to interstate hemp markets because the bill prevents opt-out States/Tribes from imposing local bans that would block cross-border sales.
State and Tribal governments can choose to self-regulate hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoid products by submitting a notice instead of adopting a federal plan, giving them more local control over regulatory approach.
States and Tribes can define 'hemp' and related terms under local law (subject to one federal exception), allowing tailored definitions and regulatory approaches for local conditions.
Producers and distributors face higher compliance costs because products moving between opt-out jurisdictions must comply with both origin and destination laws.
Small businesses and consumers will encounter a patchwork of differing State and Tribal hemp standards if many jurisdictions opt out, complicating interstate supply chains and making products harder for consumers to understand.
State and Tribal governments, producers, and distributors face legal complexity and uncertain enforcement boundaries because federal carve-outs and a retained federal exclusion create overlapping rules.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows States and Indian tribes to opt out of the federal hemp subtitle by notice, requires opt-out jurisdictions to set a minimum purchase age, preserves interstate commerce, and adjusts definitions and USDA cross-references.
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Rand Paul · Last progress April 16, 2026
Creates a new opt-out path that lets a State or Indian tribe decline to be governed by the federal hemp subtitle by submitting a notice rather than a full federal plan. Jurisdictions that opt out must adopt a minimum purchase age for hemp-derived cannabinoid products, may apply their own definitions of hemp and hemp-derived products (with a federal exclusion retained), and must allow interstate commerce to and from their territory while requiring products crossing between two opt-out jurisdictions to meet both sets of rules. The changes take effect on the same date as the 2026 amendment to the federal hemp statute.