Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five Texas cities, including Austin, over ordinances that flout state drug laws and prevent police from arresting people found with marijuana, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
In the suit filed in Travis County District Court, the attorney general’s office argues that “non-prosecution” policies in Austin, San Marcos, Elgin, Killeen and Denton violate the state’s government code and that local measures to lessen penalties for marijuana possession are unconstitutional.
“I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
Naming the Austin City Council and Mayor Kirk Watson as defendants in the suit, Paxton is asking the District Court to temporarily pause the local rules eliminating marijuana possession enforcement, which have been in effect since 2022, and ultimately repeal the decriminalization law.
Currently, the Austin Police Department’s policy in handling cases of misdemeanor-level marijuana possession is to confiscate the drugs, write a report on the encounter and release the individual if marijuana possession is the only infraction.
In 2022, 85% of Austin voters approved a measure prohibiting city police from enforcing marijuana laws in cases involving small amounts of the drug.
Julie Oliver, the executive director of Ground Game Texas, a nonprofit that led the marijuana ballot initiative in Austin and other Texas cities, chastised Paxton for bringing the suit against the popular city ordinance.
“Ken Paxton’s lawsuits represent an anti-democratic assault on the constitutional authority of Texas Home Rule cities to set local law enforcement priorities,” Oliver said in a statement Wednesday. “In each of the cities sued, a supermajority of voters adopted a policy to deprioritize marijuana enforcement in order to reduce racially-biased law enforcement outcomes and save scarce public resources for higher priority public safety needs.”
A city of Austin spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.
The Texas Health and Safety code currently lists a number of penalties for marijuana possession, ranging from a Class B misdemeanor for possessing 2 ounces or less and up to a first degree felony with a minimum five-year prison term and a potential fine of up to $50,000 for possessing 20,000 pounds or more.
The attorney general’s office is seeking the District Court to issue a ruling compelling those cities to enforce the state’s drug laws, ensure city employees are not punished for enforcing those laws and require city policymakers to return operating procedures to pre-decriminalization status.
“This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law,'” Paxton said. “It’s quite simple: the Legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce.”
Paxton’s latest lawsuit mirrors a law the Republican-led Texas Legislature passed to further limit local governments’ ability to craft policies inconsistent with state law under eight codes: Agriculture, Business & Commerce, Finance, Insurance, Labor, Natural Resources, Occupation and Property.
House Bill 2127, opponents of the bill have argued, is an attempt to claw back larger and primarily Democratic cities’ ability to superseded Texas law through municipal ordinances.
Soon after Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 2127 — often called the “Death Star” bill — into law in June, it became entangled in the courts after several cities filed a challenge. The matter has not yet been adjudicated.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: AG Ken Paxton sues Austin, other Texas cities over lax marijuana rules
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