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BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 4879

By: King

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

The bill author has informed the committee that many illegal products containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are flooding Texas shelves, are over the allowable legal limit, and are marketed to young people through attractive advertising and store locations near schools. The bill author has further informed the committee that most suspected illegal products are not tested because law enforcement cannot afford to do so, as few cities and counties dedicate money for that purpose. C.S.H.B. 4879 seeks to get illegal THC off the streets and increase the safety of communities by creating a grant program within the governor's criminal justice division to help law enforcement test products suspected of being over the legal THC limit.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the criminal justice division in the governor's office in SECTION 1 of this bill.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 4879 amends the Government Code to require the governor's criminal justice division to establish and administer a grant program through which a law enforcement agency may apply for a grant designed to assist the agency in testing a substance suspected of containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. The bill makes a law enforcement agency eligible to receive such a grant only if the agency employs one or more specified peace officers and has entered into a written agreement with the appropriate state's attorney that the attorney will evaluate all evidence obtained from the testing submitted to the attorney by the agency to determine whether prosecution is appropriate.

 

C.S.H.B. 4879 requires the criminal justice division to establish eligibility criteria for grant applications, grant application procedures, guidelines relating to grant amounts, and procedures for evaluating grant applications. The bill restricts the use of grant money awarded under the bill to paying a third-party laboratory for testing a substance suspected of containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis to determine the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol.

 

C.S.H.B. 4879 requires a law enforcement agency that receives a grant awarded under the program to annually report the following information:

·         the number of substances and the dry weight of substances that were tested using a grant;

·         the number of substances and the dry weight of substances tested that contained delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis;

·         the types of substances tested;

·         the average cost to test each type of substance;

·         the number of citations or warrants issued based on the testing of substances under a grant;

·         the status of such cases; and

·         any other information required by the criminal justice division.

The bill requires the criminal justice division to include in the biennial report regarding the division's activities a detailed reporting of the results and performance of the grant program, including data aggregated by region as determined by the division, and to adopt rules as necessary to administer the bill's provisions. The bill authorizes the criminal justice division to use any revenue available for purposes of the bill's provisions.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

 

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 4879 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

The substitute omits provisions from the introduced that restricted the use of grant money awarded under the bill to paying for the following:

·         hiring, training, and retaining personnel to test a substance to determine the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol;

·         acquiring, upgrading, or replacing technology or equipment related to conducting testing to determine the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol;

·         contracting with a third-party laboratory for testing to determine the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol; and

·         upgrading record management systems to achieve compliance with the reporting requirements established by the bill's provisions.

The substitute instead includes a provision absent from the introduced that restricts the use of that grant money to paying a third-party laboratory for testing a substance suspected of containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis to determine the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol.