[[{“value”:”A headline regular during the 89th legislative session was an all-encompassingban on hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products, which landed on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk on May 27. By law, the governor has an additional 20 days following the final day of the session to take action on bills that pass in the session’s last 10 days.
This means he has until Sunday, June 22, to sign or veto Senate Bill 3, which could determine the fate of Texas’ growing hemp industry. Without any indication of what he will do and mounting pressure from his Republican associates, Abbott seems to be running out the clock.
The bill, filed by Lubbock Republican Sen. Charles Perry and co-sponsored by a roster of senior members of the state Senate, will outright ban the manufacture, sale and possession of all consumable hemp-derived THC products. A last-minuteamendment for THC-infused beverages was ultimately shot down in the House, and the bill, closest to the Senate-approved version, passed in an 87-54 vote.
If two-thirds of each chamber of the Legislature approve a bill, it automatically becomes law without needing the governor’s approval. Though the Senate cleared this threshold in a final 25-6 vote, the House did not, so the bill was sent to Abbott’s desk.
Historically, Abbott has been so quick to sign Republican-backed legislation that flames trail the ballpoint of his pen. This year, he expedited the signing of his top concern, a school voucher program, just days after it made its way to his office. The governor often indicates his intention to sign especially noteworthy bills before they’ve even cleared both chambers. He did this with another Senate bill requiring public school educators to display a framed copy of the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. But Abbott has remained vague when questioned about SB 3.
The hemp ban bill was named Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priority this session, well before it began. The lieutenant governor poured a lot of energy into making sure SB 3 cleared and a lot of additional energy into boasting about its passage. In the session’s early days, Patrick made it clear he would go to great lengths to achieve the passage of SB 3, including promises to corner Abbott into a special session if the bill, in his preferred version, did not pass.
“We cannot in good conscience leave Austin without banning THC, which is harming our children, and destroying Texans’ lives and families,” Patrick wrote on X.
But so far, Abbott has yet to indicate his intention.
“I’m gonna give it the thoughtful consideration, from every angle, that it deserves,” Abbott said to a reporter with the Houston Chronicle.
In contrast to his usual political stances, Abbott has had a more progressive approach to legislation regarding marijuana and all of its derivatives. In 2015, the governor signed a law allowing for medical marijuana to treat epileptic conditions unresponsive to traditional anti-seizure medications. The program has been expanded almost every session since, andmost recently, expanded to include chronic illness. In 2019, following the national Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term, the governor approved a state version in Texas that legalized hemp-derived THC products containing 0.3% or less THC by weight.
However, loopholes in the law allowed highly potent products, far exceeding the legal limits, to invade stock shelves at less discerning retailers.
“These are bad actors,” Patrick said at a briefing in May. “These are people who want to kill your kids, and they don’t give a damn. So, we’ll fight this all the way. This might be the most important bill we pass in this session.”
Patrick has critiqued the marketing of these products, claiming their packaging and product design directly target children. The lieutenant governor has an interactive map with THC retailers and their proximity to schools as a dedicated page on his website to highlight the risks, he says, that these shops and their products pose to minors.
An overdose of highly potent intoxicating THC products requires immediate hospital attention but is very rarely fatal, even in young children. Indeed, there are bad apples in the industry who prioritize profit over public safety. In many cases, retailers of hemp-derived products and manufacturers agree that there needs to be more regulation of the market, but eradicating the industry as a whole in the state will only drive people to the illegal market and terminate thousands of jobs, according to some advocates.
“There are bad actors who are making bad products that are, in fact, trademark copyright violations of existing candy and snack food companies and that are attractive to children,” said Jim Higdon, owner of Cornbread Hemp, to the Observer in March. “This is a fact, and that’s why we need good regulations to prevent those bad actors. But the solution to that problem is not an outright ban.”
It’s the question on everyone’s mind: Will the governor sign SB 3? He’s been asked several times, but he offers a vague response about careful consideration each time. His office has been responding to all bill signing emails with the same pre-written response:
“Governor Abbott will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.”
Before the House voted on SB 3, the governor spoke with Fox 26 in Houston about the potential hemp ban, offering the most insight into his opinions on the bill.
“Here’s several things that are being sought to be achieved: one is to deny access by children to high-level THC-content materials, whether it be edibles or drinks or whatever the case may be,” Abbott said on April 13. “Both the House and Senate seem to agree upon that. As it concerns other avenues for adults, there’s a difference between the House and Senate that I think will get worked out before the end of the session.”
As the session progressed, the governor remained mostly quiet and has continuously refused to take an official stance.
“There are people on both sides of the issue that have concerns, and those concerns need to be looked at,” he said on June 11. “This is a time when I will once again put on my judicial hat and weigh arguments from both sides and figure out a pathway forward.”
If the governor vetoes the bill, it will be considered dead. If a special session is called, the two-thirds rule will be re-enacted, and a secondary House vote could overrule Abbott’s veto, but only if 100 Representatives vote in favor.
If the governor signs the bill, it will take effect on Sept. 1. According to Hayden Meek, owner of Delta 8 Denton, who says he will have to shutter his stores, industry stakeholders have already obtained legal representation and plan to challenge the law if it goes into effect.
“There’s a huge coalition of people that I’ve been lucky to speak [with for] nearly a year at this point,” said Meek. “We’ve all been talking and collaborating. It’s a huge coalition that represents probably at least 80% of the hemp industry in Texas.”
But here’s the thing: Abbott doesn’t have to sign or veto SB 3. There is a third option. If the governor does not sign the bill by June 22, it will automatically become law and enforceable on Sept. 1.
“}]] It’s the question on everyone’s mind, but Abbott is remaining unusually quiet, and the clock is ticking louder and louder. Read More
