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The Hill
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Texas's Dan Patrick vows to keep fighting against THC after Abbott vetoes ban
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) is vowing to keep fighting for a total THC ban in Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed such a ban but signaled willingness to accept certain facets of one. In a statement Monday night, Abbott appeared open to a ban on 'synthetic' cannabinoids — an olive branch in the escalating war of words with Patrick. The statement from Abbott's office indicated his support for banning Delta-8, Delta-10 and other lab-created or modified variants of Delta-9 THC, the naturally-occurring psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, Patrick wrote on X. Patrick said his staff would collaborate with Abbott to 'quickly pass a bill to ban all synthetic THC' when the legislature returns for the special session Abbott has called for late July It marked a slight climb down from Patrick's blistering and often meandering press release on Monday, where he blasted Abbot's agenda as a proposal 'for us to legalize marijuana in Texas — by regulating it.' In that conference, Patrick reaffirmed his opposition to cannabis legalization, accusing the state's thousands of dispensaries of being fronts for drug cartels and terrorism. He also offered a personal criticism of Abbott, whom he accused of 'parachuting' in at the last minute to veto a law to which, Patrick said, he has offered no prior objection. The industry said this week it would welcome more regulations. The rift between the state's top Republicans broke out after Abbott's last minute decision Sunday to veto Senate Bill 3, a full ban of the state's multibillion dollar recreational cannabis industry. In his veto statement, Abbott argued that the law, which Patrick effectively held the legislative budget hostage to pass, was likely to be thrown out by federal judges as a direct challenge to federal supremacy on 'hemp.' While 'hemp' and 'marijuana' are effectively the same plant, hemp — a term of art for non-psychoactive cannabis — has been federally legal since 2018. The measure opened a gap in decades of federal cannabis policy through which a multibillion dollar grey-market industry has poured — with Texas as one of its key nodes. Hemp has become an imprtant cash crop in the five years since Texas set up its own program, and family farmers were a key constituency arguing against the ban and pressing Abbott for a veto. In the press conference, Patrick argued that virtually all Republicans in the state legislature had supported S.B. 3. But civil society group Texas Watch argued many had little choice. State Rep. Wes Virdell (R), who both voted for S.B. 3 and praised Abbott for the veto, acknowledged to The Texas Tribune the tough situation legislators were in. 'Folks are mad at me for voting for SB 3 and folks will be mad at me for supporting the veto,' Virdell told the Tribune. 'Unfortunately, politics is more than just policy and not everybody knows how the sausage gets made.' In his Monday press conference, Patrick insisted the ban was a matter of principle. 'I am not mad at the governor, but I am not going to legalize marijuana in Texas,' Patrick said. 'And if people want to vote me out of office, so be it.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House takes up injury lawsuit reform bill
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An injury lawsuit reform bill critics say will make it harder for victims to receive justice inched closer to becoming law when the Texas House voted to pass it 94-52 late Monday evening. Under Senate Bill 30, a jury would hear if an attorney referred their client — and others over the past two years — to a doctor. That provider must submit an affidavit that treatment was reasonable and medical expenses should be based off rates paid by Medicare and workers' compensation insurance. The House debated and added multiple amendments to the bill, which was backed by Texans for Lawsuit Reform. This legislative session, TLR has pushed for bills related to trucking accidents and personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits aimed at lowering insurance costs and stopping what it calls 'nuclear verdicts.' 'Even though the proponents of these bills talk about lowering insurance costs, the bills never mention the word 'insurance.' The bills don't do anything to insurance companies,' said Ware Wendell with the consumer and patient advocacy group Texas Watch. 'They just infringe upon our rights.' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had listed SB 30 as a priority bill this session along with the goal of 'curbing' large jury verdicts. Despite victim pushback, Senate passes trucking lawsuit bill TLR said the bill targets what it believes are often 'inflated' medical costs that are presented at trial, which attorneys and medical providers dispute. 'It will limit the ability of some lawyers and collaborating health care providers to cheat,' TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley told lawmakers in March. Parsley said the bill does not cap damages or 'prevent an injured person from recovering the full measure of compensatory and non-economic damages.' The Lone Star Economic Alliance, which represents a coalition of Texas businesses, said the bill addresses 'the rising wave of abusive lawsuits' and reduces pressure to settle 'meritless claims.' Last year, a KXAN investigation first revealed LSEA's intention to push for more lawsuit reforms. 'Texas is known as the best state for business,' LSEA previously said in a statement. 'Unfortunately, our legal system has become a liability in an otherwise strong pro-business climate, and if we fail to fix it, we threaten the competitive advantages that generations of Texans have worked hard to build.' Wendell, however, said the bill creates unnecessary 'burdens for patients' when it comes to how medical costs and damages can be presented to a jury. 'It's really a giveaway to the insurance companies, who aren't going to have to pay full medical costs under the bill,' said Wendell. Deadly truck crashes foreshadowed fight between business, safety at Capitol The Senate version of the bill required corroborating medical evidence, or 'prior consistent statements,' for a jury to consider pain and suffering damages. Survivors of childhood sexual assault pushed back on that in recent months, worried it would make it harder to hold abusers accountable in a civil cases. Among those who spoke out was a 20-year-old who told a Senate panel he was repeatedly raped and groomed at 11-years-old by his adopted step-father, who is serving time in prison. 'This abuse was not just sexual but also physical, verbal and emotional and the effects will continue for the rest of my life,' the survivor told lawmakers. 'When I think back on what happened to me, I can only describe it as a personal hell. How do you put a cap on seven years of hell?' The bill will get another procedural vote on Tuesday before heading back to the Senate for final approval. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
