Sec. 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Michigan Hemp Farmer Protection and Regenerative Agriculture Act".

Sec. 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that:

• Hemp is an agricultural crop and a plant, and no measure of political donor influence, pharmaceutical lobbying, or legislative manipulation alters that biological fact.
• The federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 legalized hemp, defined it as the Cannabis sativa L. plant with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, and removed it from the federal Controlled Substances Act, so that any effort to re-criminalize hemp is political rather than grounded in science, law, or the will of the people.
• Industrial hemp can yield more revenue per acre than traditional crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans, can enhance soil health by absorbing toxins and building nitrogen-rich soil, can reduce the need for synthetic pesticides and herbicides, and sequesters more carbon dioxide per acre than any other crop.
• The deep taproot system of hemp helps absorb residual herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metals, giving conventional corn and soybean farmers a direct means to remediate soils depleted by decades of monocrop farming.
• When rotated with other crops, hemp releases accumulated nutrients back into the soil, benefits following crops, reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, attracts beneficial insects including pollinators, and supports a more balanced and resilient farm ecosystem.
• Michigan farmers who grow soil-depleting crops such as corn and squash deserve the right to rotate those crops with hemp to restore their land, diversify their income, and sell their hemp harvest to processing companies that create products ranging from fiber and textiles to CBD, biofuel, construction materials, and food.
• Political pressure to restrict or ban hemp in this state and across the nation arises not from science, public safety, or the constitution, but from donors, pharmaceutical companies, pesticide manufacturers, and textile corporations that profit from keeping hemp off the market and out of Michigan fields.
• The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reserves to the states all powers not delegated to the federal government, and this state asserts its full authority to establish, protect, and expand its own hemp agricultural framework independent of politically motivated federal interference.
• This state has both the authority and the obligation to protect its farmers, its land, and its agricultural economy from outside interference that serves no one but the donor class.

Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this act:

• "Compliant hemp" means any hemp crop or hemp product that meets the federal definition of hemp, having a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
• "Department" means the department of agriculture and rural development.
• "Hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
• "Hemp farmer" or "licensed hemp grower" means a person who cultivates hemp in this state in compliance with applicable state licensing requirements.
• "Hemp processing company" means a person licensed or recognized by this state to convert hemp into products including, but not limited to, fiber, textiles, CBD, biofuel, construction materials, and food.
• "State entity" means a state agency, department, official, or employee, and includes a county sheriff, a law enforcement officer, and a municipality acting under color of state or local law.

Sec. 4. Full legal protection of hemp cultivation. The cultivation, processing, transport, sale, and distribution of hemp is fully legal and fully protected under the laws of this state. Compliant hemp shall be treated by all state agencies, law enforcement entities, and courts as an agricultural product. A state entity shall not seize, destroy, confiscate, or otherwise interfere with any compliant hemp crop, hemp product, hemp processing facility, or hemp transaction within this state.

Sec. 5. Hemp farmer protection. A hemp farmer or licensed hemp grower operating in compliance with state licensing requirements is entitled to the full protection of this act.

• A hemp farmer operating in compliance with state licensing requirements shall not be subjected to prosecution, crop seizure, land penalty, or interference by any state entity.
• A law enforcement action taken against a compliant hemp farmer is a violation of this act and shall be referred to the attorney general for immediate review.

Sec. 6. Regenerative agriculture and hemp crop rotation program. The department shall establish and administer a regenerative agriculture and hemp rotation program to incentivize farmers who grow soil-depleting crops, including, but not limited to, corn, squash, wheat, and soybeans, to rotate those crops with industrial hemp. A participating farmer is entitled to all of the following:

• Priority access to state agricultural grants and subsidies for implementing hemp rotation on depleted farmland.
• Tax incentives for committing to a regenerative rotation program incorporating hemp for a minimum of 3 years.
• Technical assistance from the department on best practices for hemp cultivation and crop rotation management.
• Access to a state-maintained directory of licensed hemp processing companies to which the farmer may sell hemp harvest directly.

Sec. 7. Hemp processing industry development. This state shall actively recruit, license, and support hemp processing companies to establish operations within this state and shall foster a direct market pipeline from Michigan hemp farmers to Michigan processing facilities. Hemp processing is recognized as a priority economic development sector.

• Not later than 60 days after the effective date of this act, the Michigan economic development corporation shall establish a hemp industry development division.
• The hemp industry development division shall connect farmers with processors, investors, and end markets, including markets for fiber, textiles, CBD, biofuel, construction materials, and food products.

Sec. 8. Farmer subsidy and income protection. A Michigan hemp farmer who sells hemp harvest to a licensed Michigan hemp processing company is eligible for a state price stabilization subsidy in a year in which market prices fall below a sustainable threshold. Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall establish that sustainable threshold. The subsidy is intended to protect farmers from market volatility during the development of the state hemp industry and to ensure that a farmer who assumes the risk of planting hemp is not left without recourse if the market shifts.

Sec. 9. Review of donor-driven legislative interference. Legislation introduced in the legislature that seeks to restrict, ban, criminalize, or impose unreasonable regulatory burdens on hemp farming or processing in this state shall be reviewed by the office of the governor for evidence of donor influence, pharmaceutical lobbying, or special interest motivation.

• Where donor influence is found, the office of the governor shall make those findings available to the public.
• The people of this state are entitled to know who seeks to deprive farmers of their crops and who is funding that effort.

Sec. 10. Assertion of reserved state authority over agriculture. This state formally asserts its authority under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over agricultural policy within its borders. If a future federal action seeks to re-criminalize hemp or to impose restrictions exceeding the authority granted to the federal government under the constitution, this state shall resist that overreach through all lawful and constitutional means available, including litigation and formal intergovernmental challenge. The agricultural land, farmers, and crops of this state are governed by Michigan law first.

Sec. 11. Soil health and environmental benefits report. Not later than 90 days after the effective date of this act, and periodically thereafter, the department shall publish a comprehensive public report documenting the measurable soil health benefits of hemp crop rotation across Michigan farmland, including nitrogen restoration rates, toxin absorption data, pesticide reduction figures, and projected long-term benefits to the state's agricultural land. The department shall make the report freely available to all Michigan farmers.

Sec. 12. Permanence of protections. The protections established by this act, including hemp farmer protection, the regenerative agriculture and hemp rotation program, the hemp industry development division, and the assertion of reserved state authority, are permanent law of this state. It is the intent of the legislature that these protections not be stripped from Michigan farmers by any future administration, donor, or outside interest.

Sec. 13. Effective date. This act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.