Proposition A Is Law on Paper, but Houston Officers Still Have No Guidance on How to Enforce It
Two days after Houston voters made low-level marijuana possession HPD's lowest enforcement priority, the police union says officers have received no guidance on the new policy - and the district attorney's office says its approach has not changed.
Houston voters approved Proposition A on Tuesday, directing the Houston Police Department to make low-level marijuana possession its lowest possible enforcement priority and banning no-knock warrants. But as the city moves toward putting the charter amendment into effect, the two offices that decide what happens on the street say nothing has been handed down yet. The Houston Police Officers' Union says officers have not received guidance on how to apply the new policy, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office says its approach has not changed and that it has issued no additional guidance, according to KPRC 2.
Ray Hunt, the union's executive director, told KPRC 2 that officers were not involved in drafting the measure and still do not know exactly how they are expected to enforce it. Officers currently contact the district attorney's office when they encounter a potential state-law violation, and prosecutors then decide whether to accept charges or refer someone to a diversion program; Hunt said officers will keep following that process until they receive further direction. "You're talking about a state law violation. It's not an ordinance. The city of Houston can't change state law," Hunt said, adding that clarification needs to come from the district attorney or the Texas attorney general.
The district attorney's office, in its statement to KPRC 2, said District Attorney Sean Teare has expanded the number of people eligible for the county's marijuana diversion program, and that marijuana possession accounts for just 0.021 percent of the misdemeanor charges the office currently accepts. The office said it continues to urge the Texas Legislature to clarify cannabis laws in the next legislative session, and it encouraged law enforcement agencies to use its diversion program.
For residents, defense attorney Cory Roth's advice in the KPRC 2 report was blunt: marijuana is still illegal under state and federal law, and Proposition A applies specifically to HPD - not to the sheriff's office, constables, or other agencies working in the Houston area. Supporters at Ground Game Texas say the measure is meant to keep low-level cases from creating long-term barriers to jobs and housing. What happens next is procedural: the city must complete the formal process of adopting the charter amendment, and KPRC 2 reported it is still waiting on the city to clarify when City Council will declare the amendment adopted and when the new requirements take effect.
