PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Governor Kristi Noem issued a veto for HB 1209, ‘An Act to revise provisions regarding industrial hemp,’ saying it would classify marijuana as hemp.

The bill would have raised the allowable amount of THC in hemp able to be transported to processors in the state from 1% to 5%. Supporters of the bill said it would help processors in the state, while opponents — among them, the manager of her administration’s industrial hemp program — said it would re-classify hemp as marijuana.

In Noem’s veto letter, she said the bill would jeopardize the effectiveness and safety of South Dakota’s hemp program, while also creating conflict with federal law, which cites marijuana as anything with over 0.3% THC.

Noem also argued that the bill would undermine law enforcement.

While the bill could see a second chance at life in the form of a legislative override of Noem’s veto, the margins at which it passed the chambers — 44-26 in the House and 18-16 in the Senate — make this highly unlikely.

Though 1209 did not survive Noem’s consideration, she did sign off on a dozen other bills, including two dealing with medical marijuana.

HB 1053, signed by Noem, prohibits the issuance of a medical marijuana certification to a person who is pregnant or breastfeeding, while HB 1154 modifies what is considered acceptable conduct for practitioners related to medical cannabis.

In addition to these, Noem also signed the following:

• SB 75, which makes both parents of a child financially liable for supporting the child.
• SB 67, which revises provisions related to emergency and involuntary commitment for alcohol and drug abuse.
• SB 89, which increases the daily maximum award for the alternative care program administered by the Unified Judicial System.
• SB 172, which makes an appropriation for the design costs for the health services center at BHSU’s Rapid City location.
• HB 1022, which makes an appropriation for increased costs related to the construction of the new state public health laboratory.
• HB 1078, which makes an appropriation to DHS for the development and expansion of adult day services programs.
• HB 1079, which makes an appropriation to the DOH to provide grants to support mental health and suicide prevention programs.
• HB 1135, which provides for transparency in the pricing of prescription drugs.
• HB 1155, which makes dental practices eligible to participate in the rural health care recruitment assistance program.
• HB 1174, which provides for appropriate civil commitment of certain persons.