More than 70%: Houston voters approve Prop A, making marijuana possession HPD's lowest priority and banning no-knock warrants

Houston voters on Tuesday approved Proposition A, a city charter amendment that makes misdemeanor marijuana possession the Houston Police Department's lowest enforcement priority and bars Houston officers from requesting or executing no-knock search warrants. More than 70% of voters supported the measure, according to unofficial results from Harris and Fort Bend counties reported by Houston Public Media on Wednesday morning.

Community Impact reported that the measure drew nearly 600,000 votes across Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, with 420,641 votes in favor and 168,044 against. Marijuana Moment reported Tuesday evening that the measure was leading 72% to 28%. All results remain unofficial until they are canvassed, Community Impact noted.

What Proposition A does

The measure, known as the Houston Freedom Act, combines two policing policies into a single charter amendment, and voters could not approve one without the other, KPRC Click2Houston reported.

The official ballot language, quoted by Houston Public Media, asked whether to amend the city charter to "require the Houston Police Department to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest law-enforcement priority" with related reporting requirements, and to "prohibit Houston police officers from requesting or executing 'no-knock' search warrants." Class A and Class B possession offenses generally involve four ounces or less of marijuana, according to The Marijuana Herald.

Under the no-knock provision, Houston officers may not request, execute or participate in search warrants that do not require them to knock, announce their presence and wait at least 15 seconds before entering, Click2Houston reported.

The marijuana provision also comes with new accounting rules. According to Marijuana Moment, the measure directs the city to update its annual budget, police department manual and related policies "to ensure that public safety resources are not wasted on misdemeanor marijuana enforcement." The city manager must make sure budgets and reports account for the "total funds and staff time" spent on THC testing, the outlet reported.

The amendment also requires a one-time audit of misdemeanor marijuana enforcement by city police over the past five years, including arrests and citations broken down by age, gender, race and ethnicity, Marijuana Moment reported. The Marijuana Herald reported that the audit must be presented publicly within 120 days of the policy taking effect, and that the city must then produce annual reports on arrests, citations, diversion referrals and police resources devoted to marijuana enforcement.

The measure says the city should support diversion options, such as referrals to treatment or community service, as an alternative to arrest for people accused of Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession, according to Marijuana Moment. Officers will still be allowed to seize any substance they have probable cause to believe is marijuana, the outlet reported.

What it does not do

Proposition A does not legalize marijuana. Possession remains illegal under Texas law, and officers may still enforce state marijuana laws, Click2Houston reported. In Texas, misdemeanor marijuana possession carries possible jail time and fines, Houston Public Media noted.

The sources reviewed for this report did not say on what date the charter changes take effect.

Why Houston voted on it

The measure reached the ballot after the advocacy group Ground Game Texas gathered more than 40,000 petition signatures, Houston Public Media reported.

Houston Public Media also reported a sharp rise in misdemeanor marijuana arrests. Under Mayor John Whitmire, Houston police officers have arrested about 440 people per year for misdemeanor marijuana possession, up from an annual average of about 35 from 2021 through 2023, according to data obtained by the station.

The no-knock provision traces back to the deadly 2019 Harding Street raid, in which two homeowners were killed and several officers were wounded, Click2Houston reported. Police1, citing the Houston Chronicle, reported that officers executed that warrant based on fabricated evidence and that the raid led to criminal proceedings against officers. Houston Public Media reported that the raid prompted HPD to institute a ban on no-knock warrants. Police1 reported that HPD then required the police chief to personally approve each no-knock warrant, and that city records reviewed by the Chronicle showed none had been approved under that policy as of August. Proposition A now puts a no-knock prohibition into the city charter itself.

What supporters and officials said

"The Houston Freedom Act is proof that when working-class Texans have the opportunity to shape the policies that govern their lives, they can change what's possible," Catina Voellinger, executive director of Ground Game Texas, told Marijuana Moment. "Tonight, the will of Houstonians prevailed."

Supporters argued the changes would let police focus resources on more serious crimes while reducing the risks of no-knock raids, while opponents questioned how the restrictions would affect law enforcement operations and raised concerns about conflicts with state law, Click2Houston reported.

Whitmire has argued that the measure won't change much. "Houstonians will get to speak, but even before the ballot initiative, (misdemeanor marijuana possession) is not a priority of HPD," he told reporters in September, according to Houston Public Media.

Houston Public Media reported that Whitmire has blamed the Harris County District Attorney's Office for prosecuting more misdemeanor possession cases, and that District Attorney Sean Teare said his office is bound by state law limiting prosecutors' ability to turn away drug cases. "Personally, I think that we shouldn't be using resources to investigate and prosecute marijuana cases — and I don't believe that we're doing that now," Teare told the station in September. "But until the legislature actually gets serious about writing the laws the right way and doing something with marijuana, it's never going to be zero."

The state law question

Houston is not the first Texas city to vote on local marijuana enforcement. Ground Game Texas has organized earlier measures in several Texas cities, and those approved in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos were aimed at preventing police from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor possession in most cases, Marijuana Moment reported.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued to block those local laws, saying "we don't allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce," and the Texas Supreme Court sided with the attorney general, according to Marijuana Moment. Houston Public Media reported that Houston's measure is similar to measures passed in other cities, including San Marcos and Dallas, that faced legal challenges from Paxton.

Houston's measure is framed as an enforcement priority rather than a ban on arrests, but Click2Houston and The Marijuana Herald both reported that its implementation and its interaction with state law could still face questions or legal scrutiny. No legal challenge to Proposition A was found in the sources reviewed for this report as of Wednesday morning.

What happens next

The results must still be canvassed before they are official. Once the amendment takes effect, the city will owe the public the five-year enforcement audit within 120 days and annual enforcement reports after that, according to The Marijuana Herald.

Vote totals cited here are unofficial and may change. This article is news coverage, not legal advice.