First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Texas Democrats have filed bills to legalize marijuana for adults over 21, a week after the midterm elections flipped the Texas House and gave Democrats the lieutenant governor's race.
State Representatives John Bucy III of Austin and Joe Moody of El Paso filed House Bill 362 and House Bill 369 on Monday, the first day lawmakers could submit legislation for the 90th Legislature, which convenes January 12, 2027. Both measures, titled the Texas Regulation of Cannabis Act, contain largely identical provisions. Senator Carol Alvarado of Houston filed Senate Bill 237, a similar framework.
Under the House bills, adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess, use and transport up to two ounces of cannabis, including no more than 15 grams of concentrate. They would also be allowed to grow up to 12 cannabis plants at home for personal use, in a locked area not visible from a public place. The bills would create a state-licensed system for growing, testing and selling marijuana, with a 20 percent tax at the register.
Senate Bill 237 would allow possession of up to 2.5 ounces, would not impose a new excise tax, and would let counties ban cannabis businesses.
If enacted, the measures would take effect September 1, 2027. State regulators would have until July 1, 2028, to adopt rules, and the state would have to begin issuing licences by November 1, 2028.
The bills face long odds. The Senate is still Republican, and past legalization efforts died under Republican leadership — Bucy filed a nearly identical bill in 2025 that was referred to committee in March 2025 and never moved. Lawmakers filed 1,262 bills on Monday, the first day of prefiling.
Other cannabis bills filed Monday include House Bill 667 from Moody, which would generally reduce penalties for marijuana concentrates, House Bill 507, which would end cannabis drug tests for most public workers, and House Bill 330, which would expand the state's medical programme.