AUSTIN — The four-year effort by state Rep. Joe Moody to advance legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana could clear a major hurdle on Thursday when the legislation is scheduled for a vote in the Texas House.

Moody, an El Paso Democrat who also serves as House speaker pro tempore, said he believes he has the votes to pass the measure in the GOP-controlled lower chamber. But he is also prepared to make some modifications to the legislation during the debate in an effort to attract more support.

"This could be a hard vote for some members," Moody said. "So I am trying to make as acceptable to as many members as I can."

Under the measure as written, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana would be handled as a civil matter where the offender is ticketed by police but not arrested. The fine would top out at $250 and would not lead to a criminal record.

Under current law, a person caught with even an ounce of marijuana faces conviction of a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in a county jail, and a fine of up to $2,000.

The measure, House Bill 63, has the support of an unlikely coalition of Democrats, libertarian-minded Republicans and several district attorneys from the state's population centers. But several law enforcement organizations, including the Texas Police Chiefs Association, remain staunchly opposed to the legislation.

Scott Dye, the police chief in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grand Prairie, has said Moody's legislation is misguided.

“The issue we have with failing to prosecute small amounts of marijuana, we’re not even able to put those folks into a diversion program to give them the opportunity for treatment,” Dye said at a news conference at the Capitol last month where several law enforcement officials expressed their opposition. “We haven’t been putting those small amounts in jail for years, but we know a lot of those folks need treatment.”

Moody filed legislation similar to HB 63 during the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions, but he was unable to bring either measure to the House floor for a vote. This session, however, he was able to bring in more Republican support, including Corpus Christ's Todd Hunter and Fort Worth's Charlie Geren.

Before the 2019 legislative session began, Gov. Greg Abbott signaled he would be open to eliminating jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana while keeping it a criminal offense. Abbott has said that he does not support full decriminalization, much less legalization.

In the Senate, the measure would face an uncertain future. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who sets the agenda for the upper chamber, has long been opposed to relaxing marijuana laws.

If Moody's bill is enacted, Texas would join 14 other states that have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Five states — Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and Vermont — have since 2013 enacted marijuana decriminalization laws for possession of small amounts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

They join Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio, which have made small amount possession a low-level misdemeanor.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

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