There is an end-of-October deadline to submit proposals for approval, but politicians in the House of Representatives have crafted wording to extend the deadline.
It will still need Senate approval. The House has a majority of Democrats, the Senate of Republicans and the two parties have seldom agreed on anything recently.
Farmers across the country have been able to legally grow hemp since the 2014 Farm bill was signed into law.
That bill created a pilot program for hemp to be grown in states with plans that received Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval.
After passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, states had a deadline of October 31, 2020 to submit final plans to the USDA for approval as the pilot program was expiring.
The global pandemic has presented obstacles for state departments of agriculture to finalize plans and submit them to the USDA for approval, prompting the hemp industry association to ask for an extension.
The wording for the extension is wrapped into a much more important bill to extend overall funding so existing government programs can continue.
It's a sneaky way to avoid a debate about growing marijuana.
