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Alaska2026Passed Legislature

SB128

SB 128: Create a New Department of Agriculture

Last scannedSep 12, 2026, 4:46 AM

In one sentence

This bill creates the Alaska Department of Agriculture and moves farming-related duties from the Department of Natural Resources to this new agency.

What it does

  • Establishes the Department of Agriculture as a separate state agency by transferring agriculture functions from the Department of Natural Resources.
  • Directs the commissioner to promote agricultural industries including horticulture, dairying, cattle raising, fur farming, and grain production.
  • Requires regulations for industrial hemp that specify approved seed sources, require THC testing after harvest, and set isolation distances to keep seeds pure.
  • Allows the commissioner to issue stop orders against people who grow cannabis plants with illegal levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or are not registered.
  • Permits the commissioner to sell 'Alaska Grown' merchandise and charge license fees for selling that trademarked merchandise.

Who it affects

  • Farmers, ranchers, fur farmers, grain producers, and people raising elk in Alaska.
  • People who grow or sell industrial hemp products.
  • The Department of Natural Resources, which loses its agriculture duties to the new department.
  • The Marijuana Control Board and the Department of Public Safety, which receive lists of registered growers and reports on stop orders.

Limits and unknowns

  • The bill text does not state when this law will officially take effect.
  • Section 6 of the provided text is cut off, so some details about elk farming regulations are missing from this summary.
  • Specific fee amounts for licenses and merchandise sales are not listed in the text.

Plain language

Terms to know

Commissioner
The leader in charge of running the new Department of Agriculture.
Industrial Hemp
A type of cannabis plant grown for products like fiber or oil, which must have low levels of THC to be legal under state rules.
Stop Order
An official command from the commissioner telling a person to stop growing plants that break registration or chemical level rules.

Official record

Sources

Validated
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text

Official summary

CREATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE An Act establishing the Department of Agriculture; relating to the establishment of the Department of Agriculture; transferring functions of the Department of Natural Resources related to agriculture to the Department of Agriculture; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (S) SENATE RULES COMMITTEE1490
  2. (S) PRIME SPONSOR CHANGED - SENATE RESOURCES COMMITTEE REPLACED1490
  3. (S) Minutes (SRES)Min
  4. (S) Heard & HeldText
  5. (S) RESOURCES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  6. (S) Minutes (SRES)Min
  7. (S) Heard & HeldText
  8. (S) RESOURCES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  9. (S) Minutes (SRES)Min
  10. (S) Heard & HeldText
  11. (S) RESOURCES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  12. (S) REFERRED TO RESOURCES491
  13. (S) RES, FIN491
  14. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS491