Waiting almost until the last minute on the last day to decide, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday vetoed legislation that would have outlawed products containing the intoxicating compound found in cannabis plants, ending weeks of speculation about how he’d handle the controversial measure and opening a fissure between him and his fellow Republican, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
At issue was Senate Bill 3, one of Patrick’s signature priorities in the Texas Senate, the chamber in which he presides and generally passes the pieces of legislation that he throws his weight behind. On SB 3, Patrick demonstrated that his clout could reach across the Capitol and into the House. The lower chamber’s original version of the measure that came to be known as the “THC ban” would have regulated the substance and other intoxicating cannabinoids, including Delta-8 and Delta-9, in gummy, candy, drink, vape or flower form. But it would have allowed them to remain legal.
The other highly anticipated decision was Abbott’s signing just after 10 p.m., of the $388 billion two-year state budget, SB 1. The governor also signed the sweeping measure that overhauls the Texas lottery, but allows the games to be kept running under the direction of a different state agency.
But it was SB 3 that kept Capitol watchers riveted to the Legislature’s website virtually all day Sunday. And the decision finally arrived just before 11:30 p.m., it came with no immediate announcement from Abbott or his office.
But no matter which way he decided to with the THC legislation, the action fraught with political implications would put Abbott at the center of a political hot seat.
Patrick, who like the governor is a three-term Republican, staked much of his own political capital in pushing the bill through the GOP-controlled Senate and was considered instrumental in getting the less House to follow suit. And in a post on X.
In a post on X shortly after word of the veto reverberated through the Capitol community, Patrick did not conceal his disapproval.
“Throughout the legislative session, @GregAbbott_TX remained totally silent on Senate Bill 3, the bill that would have banned dangerous THC products in Texas,” the Republican lieutenant governor said on X. “His late-night veto, on an issue supported by 105 of 108 Republicans in the legislature, strongly backed by law enforcement, many in the medical and education communities, and the families who have seen their loved ones’ lives destroyed by these very dangerous drugs, leaves them feeling abandoned. I feel especially bad for those who testified and poured their hearts out on their tragic losses.”
But Patrick was something of an outlier among elements of the conservative base. Pushback to SB 3 came with force from libertarian-leaning conservatives and veterans’ organization, both traditionally sturdy pillars in the Republican constituency, was fierce. Among libertarians, SB 3 represented the potential loss of an established right. Veterans suffering the seen and unseen scars of war argued that the therapeutic attributes of the products in question were far superior to the often-addictive opioids prescribed to them for chronic pain and post-traumatic stress.
With Sunday’s deadline growing closer, opponents of the TCH ban amped up their cases on social media. “Texans are pleading with you @GregAbbott_TX to #VetoSB3,” the Texas Hemp Council posted on X shortly before 10 p.m. In fact, the hashtag, #VetoSB3, was trending on X for much of the day.
After the veto, the hemp council rejoiced.
“Governor @GregAbbott_TX has shown the people of Texas who he works for — proving that truth, freedom, and the voices of Texans still matter,” the organization said in X.
Meanwhile, reporters and other political watchers were posting messages of good-natured frustration as they waited in suspense for Abbott’s office to announce a decision on THC. One such poster, wrote “Austin is on edge. Will Governor Abbott do the right thing?”
It included an AI-generated photo of a smiling Abbott holding an overstuffed tin of gummies, presumably laced with THC.
Patrick put SB 3 three on a glide path in the Senate. It was voted out of the State Affairs Committee on March 10 and nine days later was passed by the full Senate with just five dissenting votes, all of them from Democrats.
The House meanwhile, took its time. The measure did not receive a committee until some three weeks after the Senate sent the measure to the lower chamber. The committee hearing lasted into the wee hours, and when the bill emerged from the panel on May 5, it was heavily revised, going from a ban to one that would heavily regulate the products.
After several postponements of the scheduled House vote, Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson of Cypress, who was not the House sponsor, offered a late-hour rewrite that essentially restored the bill back to the Senate’s version. The measure passed 87-54, with a few Republicans joining most of the Democrats in opposition. It had been on Abbott’s desk awaiting action since May 27.
Staff writer Bayliss Wagner contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Gov. Abbott vetoes bill banning THC products in Texas