Texas lawmakers grasp for 11th-hour deal on THC regulations

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Top Texas Republicans were hashing out an 11th-hour deal Wednesday to tighten regulations on consumable hemp products, the first sign of movement in weeks on what emerged this summer as an intractable policy issue that divided state leaders.

Lawmakers were working on a compromise in the waning moments of the special session, according to five legislative staffers and three lawmakers familiar with the discussions. The last-minute talks were an unexpected twist: The main legislative proposal — an outright ban on THC products — has sat dormant since Aug. 20, and it had seemed that the Legislature would gavel out without taking any action to rein in Texas’ exploding hemp market.

It was not immediately clear what a deal would look like. During the special session, both the House and Senate had primarily considered legislation that would fulfill Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s monthslong push to outlaw products containing any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than the non-intoxicating components of cannabis.

Other proposals include legislation from Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, that would create the Texas Hemp Council to study and develop rules for THC products and establish hemp testing and licensing requirements, among other restrictions. Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, also proposed a bill barring the sale of THC products to those under 21.

Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott have stood at an impasse on the issue since June, when Abbott vetoed a THC ban the Legislature passed during the regular session earlier this year.

In his veto, Abbott said the bill would run afoul of federal law. He called for a regulatory approach instead, including restrictions on potency, age limits, enforcement mechanisms and a prohibition of synthetically modified hemp compounds.

But Patrick insisted that a ban was the only way to keep Texans safe from products containing far higher levels of THC — tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating part of the cannabis plant — than the law allows. The lieutenant governor has long argued it would be impossible to properly regulate the thousands of stores and manufacturers dispensing consumable hemp products, a position that has drawn attacks from some conservative activists and voters — putting Patrick, a right-wing standard-bearer, at odds with his base.

The split marked a rare public disagreement between Abbott and Patrick, who have largely aligned over a decade in office together.

A full ban cleared the Senate both special sessions this summer but stalled in the House, where it became clear that it lacked enough votes to pass. During the regular session, some House members said they voted for a full THC prohibition under the impression that their unrelated bills would die in the Senate if they failed to get in line.

“We looked hard for that common ground and just never could find it,” Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston and the ban’s author, said Tuesday afternoon before the last-ditch negotiations began. “We just don’t see that we can get anything off the House floor.”

The Legislature inadvertently opened the door to Texas’ consumable hemp market in 2019 when lawmakers, seeking to align the state with federal law, passed a bill legalizing hemp.

Texas law prohibits products containing more than 0.3% concentration of delta-9 THC. But the state has largely not enforced that limit due to challenges related to testing products and citing retailers.

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