It’s the prefiling season at the Texas capitol with the election results practically finished in the state. Senators and representatives are already filing the potential laws in the register. Here’s the cut of marijuana decriminalization and legalization bills.
HB 3772 by Chairman James White (R)
Relating to the criminal consequences of certain criminal offenses involving the possession of marihuana or possession of drug paraphernalia; imposing a fee; authorizing a fine
HJR 28 by Rep Lyle Larson(R)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis for medical use.
HB 99 by Rep. Steve Toth(R) (Decriminalization)
Relating to the possession of two ounces or less of marihuana; authorizing a fee.
It is no surprise Toth is prefiling a decrim bill. In the image below from the TXNORML voter guide, Toth filed similar legislation last session. That bill never made it out of committee. It is likely true that Dan Patrick will block any Democrat bill coming forward. And it is likely that he will block anything from being assigned in the Senate. Those are not absolutes, but his prior history shows this trend.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 447 by Rep. Joe Moody (D) (Legalization)
Relating to the regulation of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, testing, possession, and use of cannabis and cannabis products; authorizing the imposition of taxes and fees; requiring an occupational license; creating a criminal offense.
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Moody would likely have been prefiling something related to cannabis. In the 86th session, Moody submitted HB 63 which sought to decriminalize cannabis possession. Moody worked with Governor Abbott to tailor the bill something he would sign but was shot down by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 169 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson(D) (Decriminalization)
Relating to the criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances and marihuana.
A link to the filed bill text.
SB 140 by Sen. Roland Gutierrez(D) (Legalization)
Relating to the regulation of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, testing, possession, and use of cannabis and cannabis products; authorizing the imposition of taxes and fees; requiring an occupational license; creating a criminal offense; to border security enhancement projects and the creation of a fund to pay for those projects; to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis and the licensing of medical cannabis dispensing organizations.
Gutierrez would obviously be prefiling this bill. He ran heavily on his Senate district election with this as a staple of his platform. Gutierrez beat out incumbent Peter Flores with 156,741 votes to the latter’s 146,395. Since February Gutierrez has modified his bill to include a medical marijuana component as well.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 43 by Rep. Alex Dominguez(D) (Decriminalization)
Relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by patients with certain eligible medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations; changing a fee.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 307 by Rep. Nicole Collier(D) (Affirmative Defense)
Relating to a defense to prosecution for the possession of certain consumable hemp products containing a controlled substance or marihuana.
The text of this bill is rather short and to the point. Say a person has purchased a product they believe to be hemp. Purchased from a licensed and reputable retailer. It is an acceptable defense from prosecution if it turns out the product has a controlled substance in it.
A link to the filed bill text.
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HB 94 by Rep. Ron Reynolds(D) (Medical Cannabis)
Relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by qualifying patients with certain debilitating medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and testing facilities; authorizing fees.
A link the to filed bill text.
SB 90 by Sen. José Menéndez(D) (Medical Cannabis)
Relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by qualifying patients with certain debilitating medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and testing facilities; authorizing fees.
Sen. Menéndez was one of the only senators to vocally and actually stand up for medical expansion. To take a stand for why the law needed to expand to cover more patients in the state of Texas. The senator filed SB 90 in the 86th session. This was a senate version of Moody’s decrim bill.
HJR 11 by Rep. Ron Reynolds(D) (Constitutional Amendment: Medical Cannabis)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis for medical use.
Reynolds filed practically the same bill last session but from the Texas comfort of a jail cell. Reynold was serving a sentence for barratry. Barratry is the legal term for the slang of ambulance-chasing. Defined as when a lawyer seeks clients at a disaster site.
A link to the filed bill text.
HJR 13 by Rep. Terry Canales(D) (Constitutional Amendment: Legalization)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis.
A link to the filed bill text.
SJR 16 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D) (Constitutional Amendment: Legalization)
Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis.
A link to the filed bill text.
SB 151 by Sen Nathan Johnson (D) (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the criminal penalties for possession or delivery of marihuana and marihuana concentrate.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 567 by Rep. James B. Frank (R) (Family Law)
Relating to the procedures and grounds for terminating the parent-child relationship, for taking possession of a child, and for certain hearings in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship involving the Department of Family and Protective Services. This is a companion bill to SB 190. It gives protection to families that are prescribed marijuana under TCUP
A link to the filed bill text.
SB 190 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R) (Family Law)
Relating to the procedures and grounds for terminating the parent-child relationship, for taking possession of a child, and for certain hearings in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship involving the Department of Family and Protective Services. This is a companion bill to HB 567. It gives protection to families that are prescribed marijuana under TCUP
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 439 by Rep. Terry Canales (D) (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances and marihuana.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 441 by Rep. Erin Zwiener(D) (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances and marihuana.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 498 by Rep. Gene Wu (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the prosecution of and penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marihuana
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 585 by Rep. Sheryl Cole (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the prosecution of and penalties for possession of marihuana.
A link to the filed bill text.
HB 616 by Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. (Penalty Reduction)
Relating to the criminal penalties for possession of two grams or less of marihuana.
A link to the filed bill text.