AUSTIN — On a typical night, Flamingo Cantina is packed with patrons seeking out its "good vibes music."

But on the unusually quiet Wednesday after New Year's Eve, as the buzzed frat boys and trashed tourists who flock to Austin's Sixth Street take a sabbatical from the sauce, this Rastafarian watering hole hosted a wholly different crowd.

"We're going to be talking about some pretty cool stuff," Jax Finkel tells the dozen or so people who've taken their seats inside the empty bar. "I'm going to kick off the night talking about the Farm Bill."

Red, yellow and green streamers float lazily overhead, swaying in time to beats from reggae legends like Yellowman and Steel Pulse. Oversized flamingos wearing plastic leis lend the venue that displaced island feel endemic to inland America's reggae bars.

On a small stage, Finkel whips through statutes and statistics, providing a primer on big changes Congress recently made to national hemp production rules. The tide of public opinion is shifting, with polls showing a majority of Americans supporting easing marijuana restrictions. Even conservatives are jumping on the bandwagon.

Now, Finkel says, new pot laws could be coming to Texas. The 2019 legislative session kicks off Tuesday.

"I remember when legislators laughed," says Finkel, executive director for Texas NORML, the state arm of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

But this year, she says, "There will be change."

What bills are on the table?

Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, a coalition that includes NORML and a couple of dozen other groups, is prioritizing two bills this year: one that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and another to legalize marijuana for medical use.

Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, is sponsoring the decriminalization bill for the third time. In 2016, more than 66,000 Texans were arrested for marijuana possession, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Moody hopes to cut that number down by replacing the criminal penalty for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana with a fine.

"It's fiscally responsible," Moody said of his bill, adding that "we're being smarter on crime, not saddling young people with criminal histories that are going to take them out of the workforce."

Sen. José Menéndez is again sponsoring legislation to expand the state's so-called Compassionate Use Law.

Currently, only Texans diagnosed with "intractable epilepsy" are allowed to use cannabis that contains low levels of the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Menéndez's bill would dramatically expand this law by legalizing medical marijuana for Texans with certain other debilitating conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, Alzheimer's, PTSD, autism or chronic pain, nausea and muscle spasms.

"Patients should not be arrested for using a medicine that is legal in every state that borders Texas, including conservative states like Oklahoma and Arkansas," Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said in a recent statement. "The Legislature must act and provide medical freedom to those who need it the most."

According to the National Council of State Legislatures, 33 states have implemented comprehensive medical marijuana programs and 10 states have legalized small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

Will these bills pass?

Last year for the first time, the Republican Party of Texas endorsed decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. A few months later, Gov. Greg Abbott also threw his support behind the move.

Moody called this growing bipartisan support "a huge step" and a sign that his bill could finally become law.

"There's a lot of momentum," he said. Acknowledging there may be "institutional pressures" against decriminalization, Moody added, "If this does not make it to the floor for a full debate, I would consider this session a failure."

Marijuana advocates, although optimistic, reiterate that change won't come easy.

"The work that we've been doing for years is working," Heather Fazio, who directs Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, tells the crowd at Flamingo Cantina. "2018 has been a tremendous year.

"2019 is our opportunity to make it happen."

Finkel points to a table underneath the bar's huge undersea-themed mural. Fliers detail important upcoming dates like an advocacy workshop next Saturday and the marijuana policy lobbying day in February. She's all business as she rattles off dates and times and legislators' names.

Well, mostly business.

A small pipe sits near the raffle bowl, illuminated by psychedelic lights emanating from somewhere near the DJ booth. Finkel glances over.

"Before I cover the last couple things," she says, "if you did not already sign up over at the table, we're doing a giveaway of a function piece of glass art."

One guy in a red flannel Elmer Fudd hat yells out, "I need some glass!" to chuckles from the crowd. Finkel reaches her hand inside the plastic bowl and pulls out a name. The crowd pauses, expectant.

"Clint!" she announces. The man in the hat stands up, and the crowd cheers as he comes forward to claim his prize.

More information about proposed marijuana-related bills