Late Sunday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a last-minute veto of the THC ban bill recently passed by the Texas Legislature. The governor then called a special session, asking legislators to regulate, rather than ban, the substance used by many as a pain management alternative to opioids.
The governor had until midnight Sunday night to veto SB-3 or allow it to become law without his signature. Groups from both sides of the issue applied political pressure to the governor’s office. In the end, Abbott decided to veto the bill and call for its regulation.
“Senate Bill 3 is well-intentioned,” Abbott wrote in a veto proclamation. “But it would never go into effect because of valid constitutional challenges. Litigation challenging the bill has already been filed, and the legal defects in the bill are undeniable.”
The governor cited legal challenges to a 2023 Arkansas law which was overturned by a challenge in federal court.
“As a former Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General of Texas, I know that Senate Bill 3 is vulnerable to the same legal attacks,” the governor added. “At worst, Senate Bill 3 would be permanently invalidated by the courts; at best, its implementation would be delayed for years as the case winds its way through the legal system. We can do better.”
The governor then called for a special session of the Legislature beginning in July, to address regulation of THC rather than an outright ban.
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Author: Dillon B
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