RYAN REJECTS HEMP STUDY

Worries about drug use beat out farming issues Friday as Gov. Ryan vetoed
legislation requiring a study of industrial hemp as a potential alternative
crop in Illinois.

Ryan said he was concerned the study would not require researchers to
develop a plant free of THC, the chemical responsible for the high from
marijuana, a genetic cousin to hemp.

Nor would the study look into the impact of a hemp crop on law enforcement
practices, Ryan said.

"I will not ignore the unified concern of drug treatment and prevention
groups that the ultimate commercial cultivation and availability of a
product that contains a mind-altering substance would leave open the
prospect of substance abuse," the governor said.

The bill would have enabled two state universities to study potential
agricultural uses of hemp. But critics, including former federal drug
policy chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said the initiative might encourage drug
use.

Ryan agreed with those concerns, saying a hemp crop could lead to a
weakening of the enforcement of drug laws, and that the demand for hemp
products is too meager to spend $1 million of taxpayer money for a study.

In the House, lawmakers defeated a bill that would have limited ATM
surcharges. The measure would have allowed banks to only charge fees to
their own customers. Any ATM user without an account at the bank that owns
the ATM would have been able to conduct transactions without a surcharge.

A recent study by the Coalition for Consumer Rights found some instances
where ATM users could face bank fees of up to $4 on the withdrawal of $20.

The debate on the bill centered on whether a law restricting the ability of
banks to set their own fees was unconstitutional. Opponents said rates
should be set by competition within the industry, rather than by state
regulation.

Bill sponsor John Fritchey (D-Chicago) said the legislation was not
unconstitutional, nor did it take profits away from the banking industry.

"This is an issue where 80 percent of the consumers in this state feel that
the ATM fees are excessive and unnecessary," Fritchey said. "I'm not trying
to take away profits from the banks."

The bill fell 28 votes shy of passage.