Panel votes to decriminalize small amount of pot

As Texas debates the decriminalization of marijuana, keep clicking to see states that have legalized pot. As Texas debates the decriminalization of marijuana, keep clicking to see states that have legalized pot. Photo: Mark Thiessen, STF Photo: Mark Thiessen, STF Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Panel votes to decriminalize small amount of pot 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN - For the first time, a committee in the Legislature has approved a bill to decriminalize possession of marijuana, a move advocates hailed as a milestone moment in Texas.

The state House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee passed House Bill 507 late Monday, just three days after narrowly voting it down.

The tally the second time around was 4-2, with tea party Republican David Simpson of Longview joining with three Democrats. One GOP member did not attend.

The measure, which would make possession of less than an ounce of pot a civil infraction instead of a class B misdemeanor, will now go to the committee that controls the floor calendar.

It will likely stay there, and has virtually no chance of becoming law in a deeply conservative Legislature.

Nevertheless, the committee's decision speaks volumes on how far Texas has shifted on the controversial matter.

Bill sponsor Joe Moody, D-El Paso, said in a statement that "Texas cannot afford to continue criminalizing tens of thousands of citizens for marijuana possession each year."

"We need to start taking a more level-headed approach," Moody said. "It is neither fair nor prudent to arrest people, jail them, and give them criminal records for such a low-level, non-violent offense."

There were more than 70,000 arrests or citations issued for marijuana-related offenses in Texas in 2012, 97 percent of which were for simple possession, according to supporters of the bill, who have predicted the legislation could save the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

3 Democrats, 1 GOP

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have taken jail time off the table for those caught with small amounts of marijuana. Recreational use of pot is now legal in Colorado and Washington while public opinion polls show growing nationwide support for such measures.

In Texas, the issue has seized much attention but spurred little action.

Last Friday, it appeared dead altogether as the committee narrowly rejected HB 507 and two other measures to make marijuana possession a class C misdemeanor.

Moody urged calm, saying two members had been unable to attend that vote and could turn the tide in a future hearing.

In addition to Moody and Simpson, state Reps. Abel Herrero of Robstown and Terry Canales of Edinburg supported the bill. Plano Republicans Jeff Leach and Matt Shaheen voted no.

Although a Texas committee has never before approved decriminalization, the same committee last session approved a bill from Houston Democrat Harold Dutton to make marijuana a class C misdemeanor. Dutton has introduced the same measure for several session but this year did not get traction.

The vote came the same day that another set of marijuana-related bills appeared to die.

State Rep. Myra Crownover, chair of the committee that controls the fate of medical marijuana bills in Texas, said that "there are still a lot of questions to be answered" about the legislation, indicating it is unlikely to win approval before next week's deadline.

"The bills need a lot of time and attention," Crownover said outside a forum here about health issues in the Legislature.

Deadline looms

The deadline for House bills to make it out of committees is next Monday.

Three measures to legalize pot-related substances have been left pending in Crownover's committee since an emotional hearing last month.

Advocates are rallying around House Bill 3785, by El Paso Democrat Marisa Márquez, a broad measure to legalize medical marijuana. More realistic, some say, is House bill 892, by Fort Worth Republican Stephanie Klick, which would make it OK to use a small amount of cannabidiol oil to treat conditions such as seizures.