| 1 | 1 | | 89R12617 CJD-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: King H.B. No. 4879 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the creation of a grant program to assist local law |
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| 10 | 10 | | enforcement agencies in testing certain substances suspected of |
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| 11 | 11 | | containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 772, Government Code, is |
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| 14 | 14 | | amended by adding Section 772.00791 to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 772.00791. GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST LOCAL LAW |
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| 16 | 16 | | ENFORCEMENT IN TESTING SUBSTANCES FOR DELTA-9 |
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| 17 | 17 | | TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL. (a) In this section, "criminal justice |
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| 18 | 18 | | division" means the criminal justice division established under |
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| 19 | 19 | | Section 772.006. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) The criminal justice division shall establish and |
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| 21 | 21 | | administer a grant program through which a law enforcement agency |
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| 22 | 22 | | may apply for a grant designed to assist the agency in testing a |
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| 23 | 23 | | substance suspected of containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in |
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| 24 | 24 | | a concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) A law enforcement agency is eligible to receive a grant |
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| 26 | 26 | | under the program established under this section only if the |
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| 27 | 27 | | agency: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) employs one or more peace officers described by |
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| 29 | 29 | | Article 2A.001(1), (2), or (3), Code of Criminal Procedure; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) has entered into a written agreement with the |
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| 31 | 31 | | appropriate attorney representing the state that the attorney will |
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| 32 | 32 | | evaluate all evidence obtained from the testing described by |
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| 33 | 33 | | Subsection (b) submitted to the attorney by the agency to determine |
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| 34 | 34 | | whether prosecution is appropriate. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (d) The criminal justice division shall establish: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) eligibility criteria for grant applications; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) grant application procedures; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (3) guidelines relating to grant amounts; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (4) procedures for evaluating grant applications. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (e) Grant money awarded under this section may be used to |
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| 41 | 41 | | pay for: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) hiring, training, and retaining personnel to test |
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| 43 | 43 | | a substance to determine the concentration of delta-9 |
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| 44 | 44 | | tetrahydrocannabinol; |
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| 45 | 45 | | (2) acquiring, upgrading, or replacing technology or |
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| 46 | 46 | | equipment related to conducting testing to determine the |
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| 47 | 47 | | concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (3) contracting with a third-party laboratory for |
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| 49 | 49 | | testing to determine the concentration of delta-9 |
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| 50 | 50 | | tetrahydrocannabinol; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | (4) upgrading record management systems to achieve |
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| 52 | 52 | | compliance with the reporting requirements under Subsection (f). |
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| 53 | 53 | | (f) A law enforcement agency that receives a grant awarded |
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| 54 | 54 | | under the program established under this section annually shall |
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| 55 | 55 | | report: |
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| 56 | 56 | | (1) the number of substances and the dry weight of |
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| 57 | 57 | | substances that were tested using a grant awarded under this |
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| 58 | 58 | | section; |
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| 59 | 59 | | (2) the number of substances and the dry weight of |
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| 60 | 60 | | substances tested that contained delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in a |
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| 61 | 61 | | concentration exceeding 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis; |
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| 62 | 62 | | (3) the types of substances tested; |
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| 63 | 63 | | (4) the average cost to test each type of substance; |
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| 64 | 64 | | (5) the number of citations or warrants issued based |
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| 65 | 65 | | on the testing of substances under a grant awarded under this |
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| 66 | 66 | | section; |
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| 67 | 67 | | (6) the status of the cases described by Subdivision |
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| 68 | 68 | | (5); and |
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| 69 | 69 | | (7) any other information required by the criminal |
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| 70 | 70 | | justice division. |
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| 71 | 71 | | (g) The criminal justice division shall include in the |
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| 72 | 72 | | biennial report required by Section 772.006(a)(9) a detailed |
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| 73 | 73 | | reporting of the results and performance of the grant program |
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| 74 | 74 | | administered under this section, including data aggregated by |
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| 75 | 75 | | region as determined by the division. |
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| 76 | 76 | | (h) The criminal justice division may use any revenue |
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| 77 | 77 | | available for purposes of this section. |
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| 78 | 78 | | (i) The criminal justice division shall adopt rules as |
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| 79 | 79 | | necessary to administer this section. |
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| 80 | 80 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 81 | 81 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 82 | 82 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 83 | 83 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 84 | 84 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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