Austin City Council members gathered today at City Hall for a press conference voicing support for low level cannabis decriminalization.

Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza

Members Natasha Harper-Madison, Greg Casar, Jimmy Flanagan, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza spoke of the measure to support passing at City Hall. The measure will result in the police department ending arrests and ticketing for low level marijuana possession within city limits. The proposal would be what many consider a form of decriminalization. The four members present sponsor the proposal to be voted on January 23, 2020.

The council members noted that when HB1325 passed, the state created an unfunded mandate to test substances to identify now legal hemp and illegal marijuana. Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza praised the hemp bill passed but noted that the state placed a cap on revenue brought in to perform these services. Garza noted that the passing burdens them to pay for costly services not widely available yet.

The state has created a problem that it expects the local governments to fix. But it has also tied our hands leaving us with fewer ways to do that. In response, Travis County amongst other counties across the state have made it clear that they won’t use limited resources to prosecute low level marijuana cases. That means that continuing to sink the City of Austin’s limited resources into citing those low level cases doesn’t make any sense. Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza – Jan 21, 2020

Garza continued noting that by taking this measure the police can focus on violent crime. That the measure would strike a balance between having limited resources, prioritizing its focuses, and aligning the actions with the city’s values.

Jimmy Flanagan, chair of the Judicial Committee, spoke that this was not an actual decriminalization of marijuana. That decrim is a conversation for another day in another building. FurtherStating that he hopes his colleagues up the street would take this up in the next session.

Today we can do, dare i say the fiscally conservative thing. And look at the resources we are expending in our police department to enforce a law that is no longer enforceable. That district attorneys both in Travis and Williamson county where I live and represent, have said that it is impossible to fairly enforce this new legislative decision. Jimmy Flanagan – Council Member Jan 21, 2020

The city council will discuss the resolution as a whole on Jan 23, 2020.

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