House adopts senate substitute on hemp bill with opt‑in privacy and organizer rights

The House on April 1 took up and adopted the senate substitute for HCS for HB 26 41, a bill revising state provisions tied to hemp/cannabis regulation. The gentleman from Saint Charles County summarized four senate changes and fielded questions about scope and worker protections.

He said the senate changed a private-information provision from an opt-out to an opt-in approach, added language that employees of cannabis-related businesses "have the right to organize," clarified that the entire bill would take effect Nov. 12, 2026, and specified that certain drink products may not be sold to persons under 21 if federal rules extend to drinks. "There was an issue... private information being opt out. We switched that to an opt in over in the senate," he told the House, and later noted the senate vote had been bipartisan.

Members from the floor asked clarifying questions, including whether the organizing right includes cultivators; the sponsor said it does. The House adopted the senate substitute on a roll-call tally of 125–21 and then agreed and finally passed the senate substitute by yeas 126, nays 23.

Floor discussion emphasized the bipartisan committee and Senate work on the measure and included supportive comments noting the bill addresses federal alignment issues and worker protections. The transcript shows no additional amendments were adopted on the floor during third-reading action recorded in the House minutes.