New, lesser marijuana offense would reduce strain on local budgets

At the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee this morning , Rep. Harold Dutton has a bill up, HB 184, that would significantly reduce county indigent defense costs and prevent law enforcement from diverting limited local police resources from more important duties by carving out possession of an ounce or less of marijuana and making it a Class C misdemeanor. Presently, possession of up to two ounces is a Class B misdemeanor and if the bill passes, possession of one to two ounces would still fall under the higher penalty category. But possession of a lesser amount would become a fine-only offense. According to the Department of Public Safety, there were 69,770 arrests for marijuana possession in 2011 (the last year for which data is available), up from 57,172 in 2003.

Counties must pay for lawyers when an indigent person is charged with a Class B misdemeanor but Class Cs - because the defendant is not at risk of a jail sentence - do not entitle the defendant to a county paid attorney. Since nearly 60% of drug possession arrests in this state are of pot smokers - and most are not for large amounts - this legislation would reduce indigent defense and county jail costs for people caught with user-level quantities of pot while still maintaining the drug's criminal status. And of course, Class C offenders pay fines, contributing income to county coffers, while offenders sent to jail cost taxpayers money.

From a fiscal perspective, Dutton's bill makes loads of sense. But perhaps, for a change, this year it may make political sense, too. In 2005 under leadership of then-Chairman Terry Keel, this same committee approved a similar bill unanimously, with several Republicans including Keel and Rep. Debbie Riddle voting for the measure. But then-Speaker Tom Craddick would not allow the bill to go to a floor vote, ostensibly to "protect" the members from voters like this guy. With a different Speaker and a fresh, new committee - plus public opinion on the subject changing dramatically - it's a good time to take another serious run at the proposal.

Rep. Dutton has modified the legislation from the version that passed out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee back in 2005, which would have simply reduced the penalty category for up to two ounces to a Class C misdemeanor. This bill carves out a new, lesser offense category for possession of smaller amounts, though penalties would increase for someone repeatedly caught with the drug.

This bill pales in comparison to developments in Colorado and Washington state, where legalize, tax and regulate laws were approved by voters in the November election. All pot possession under Dutton's bill would remain a criminal offense. But the bill would afford more equitable punishment for the lowest-level offenders, provide tremendous relief to county indigent defense costs, lessen population pressure on county jails, and keep more police officers on the street, letting them focus on more serious offenses. Rep. Dutton has a reputation as a liberal, but in many ways HB 184 is a profoundly conservative bill.