Texas Legal professional Basic Ken Paxton (R) introduced on Wednesday a brand new lawsuit by his workplace in opposition to the 5 Texas cities which have handed hashish decriminalization insurance policies, The Hill studies.
The lawsuit names metropolis mayors and council members from the 5 cities, which embrace Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos, and argues that officers have adopted amnesty and non-prosecution insurance policies “that violate Texas legal guidelines regarding marijuana possession and distribution.” The lawsuit additional states that the cities’ decriminalization insurance policies — all of which stem from profitable voter initiatives — are unlawful underneath the state structure, which prohibits municipalities from enacting ordinances which can be inconsistent with state legislation.
“I cannot stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists intentionally violate Texas legislation and promote the usage of illicit medicine that hurt our communities. This unconstitutional motion by municipalities demonstrates why Texas will need to have a legislation to ‘comply with the legislation.’ It’s fairly easy: the legislature passes each legislation after a full debate on the problems, and we don’t enable cities the flexibility to create anarchy by choosing and selecting the legal guidelines they implement.” — AG Paxton, in a press release
Voters from a sixth Texas metropolis, Harker Heights, authorized hashish decriminalization alongside others named within the swimsuit throughout the newest midterm elections, however the metropolis council there in the end repealed the initiative, the report mentioned.
Notably, metropolis council members in Lubbock just lately rejected a hashish decriminalization proposal, which prompted the problem to be kicked to voters throughout the election later this 12 months.
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