Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has voiced strong opposition to a new state law that enforces strict regulation’s on hemp and called on Gov. Kay Ivey to intervene on the “broken” legislation.

Woodfin posted his condemnation of HB445 on Facebook Monday morning.

Woodfin urged Ivey to follow the lead of Texas Governor Greg Abbot who vetoed a similar bill in his state on Sunday.

“Let me be very clear: this bill is broken,” Woodfin said.

“The Governor has the power to call a special session and fix it, and I strongly encourage her to do so. We cannot afford to return to a time of criminalization and confusion. This law does not promote public safety – it punishes progress and economic opportunity.”

According to the Texas Tribune, Abbott vetoed a bill banning THC products in Texas and called a special legislative session so lawmakers could develop a plan to regulate the substance.

Ivey’s office told AL.com that the governor has, “no plans to call a special session”, over HB445.

HB445 will go into effect on July 1 and Woodfin says it could force hundreds of businesses to close their doors.

The bill will ban smokable hemp and high-potency gummies, two of the industry’s biggest sellers.

It will also make it a felony to sell or possess the smokable flowers or pre-rolled cigarettes, harsher than the misdemeanor penalty for marijuana possession.

However, Woodfin and business operators question how it is currently legal to purchase or sell hemp flowers but will be illegal on July 1.

Christian Butts, owner of Seedless Greens, told AL.com that he finds it contradictory that he has a license to grow and sell hemp but could soon be criminalized for doing so.

“As a farmer processor, I’ve got an agreement with the state of Alabama that says I’m allowed to have flower, and I’m allowed to process flower to make the extraction to put in the gummies and the drinks and everything you said that we can make,” Butts said.

“But how’s that going to work? That’s not in the bill, either. There’s no protection to businesses in this bill.”

Additionally, HB445 puts the hemp-derived products and retailers under regulation by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, imposing a 10% tax, banning some items, and setting up new requirements for packaging, labeling, and testing, as well as civil and criminal penalties for violations.

While proponents of the bill assert it is for public safety Woodfin contends it will have an adverse effect.

“That’s backward policy that will harm real people and overwhelm our local law enforcement with nonsense when they should be focused on violent crime and real threats to public safety.” Woofin said.

“Alabama deserves better than this. We need to fix this law – and we need to do it now.”

AL.com’s Mike Cason contributed to this report.