HB 218 Hearing Notice

Legislation which would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor has been scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, February 28. Submit written support for this legislation here.

HB 218, authored by Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, will be heard by the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in the Texas House of Representatives next week.

Bill Highlights:

• Possessing up to one ounce of cannabis or cannabis concentrates would be reduced to a Class C misdemeanor, with no jail time and a fine of no more than $500. Under existing law, possession of even the smallest amount of cannabis is a Class B misdemeanor, which can carry up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000.
  
• Possession of up to two ounces would not result in an arrest if that was the only violation of the law. Currently anyone found in possession of any amount of cannabis is arrested and taken to jail in most jurisdictions.
  
• Sets up an expungement process for anyone convicted of possession of up to two ounces, with a fee of $30 if certain conditions are met. This allows anyone with a low level marijuana possession conviction to remove it from their criminal record.

Of Note: This bill merges together two bills from last session that passed both the House Committee and the House Floor. The author, Rep Joe Moody, is also the Chair of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. We anticipate that this bill will quickly advance out of the committee and therefore strongly encourage our fellow Texans to submit their support virtually.

Follow our social media accounts to stay up to date as more information becomes available. Updates will be provided on this page as well.

If you plan to attend the hearing and provide public testimony, please follow this link for more information.

Stay up to date on the Texas 88th Legislative Session by bookmarking this link.