Austin, TX
Paxton sues Austin, four other Texas cities, over marijuana possession policies
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Austin, San Marcos and three other cities that have adopted policies that he says violate state marijuana laws.
Paxton alleges the five cities — which also include Killeen, Denton and Elgin — have rules that instruct police not to enforce Texas’ drug laws.
He argued Texas Local Government Code forbids cities from adopting policies in which a city is not fully enforcing drug laws. In addition, he said, the Texas Constitution notes it is unlawful for cities to adopt ordinances that conflict with state law.
“I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” Paxton said in a statement. “This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law.’ It’s quite simple: the legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce.”
In May 2022, Austin voters approved a proposition to sanction the possession of 4 ounces or less of marijuana and ban the use of no-knock warrants by police.
About 11% of people registered to vote in Travis County participated in the election, which is common when a vote is not held in November.
San Marcos, Elgin, Killeen and Denton later joined the ranks to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession. Similar efforts are now underway in Dallas and have been led by voter engagement nonprofit Ground Game Texas.
Austin police already weren’t arresting people for low-level possession. Prosecutors began dropping misdemeanor marijuana cases after a state law in 2019 legalized hemp. After some back and forth in 2020, Austin police agreed to stop citing people for the offense.
Congressman Greg Casar, who wrote the resolution to stop pursuing low-level marijuana cases, said the policies promote social justice and that local resources should “go to keeping people safe, not chasing people down for low level pot offenses.”
The City of Austin did not immediately respond to a request for comment but said it was aware of the lawsuit.
“Ken Paxton’s lawsuits represent an anti-democratic assault on the constitutional authority of Texas Home Rule cities to set local law enforcement priorities,” Julie Oliver, executive director for Ground Game Texas, said. “In each of the cities sued, a supermajority of voters adopted a policy to deprioritize marijuana enforcement in order to reduce racially-biased law enforcement outcomes and save scarce public resources for higher priority public safety needs.”
Paxton has asked the district court to repeal city’s ordinances and make them enforce state law.
Copyright 2024 KUT News. To see more, visit KUT News.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — For some, the day dawned sunny. For some, the day started with clouds and fog. Higher dew points and light wind contributed to fog over eastern Williamson and northeast Travis Counties eastward.
Minimum temperatures fell to 39° at Llano to 40s and 50s elsewhere. Most of the 40s were in the Hill Country. Low to mid 50s were reported along I-35, including 52°, and mid to upper 50s in the eastern counties.
These numbers may be lower approaching midnight thanks to today’s cold front.
A dry cold front is moving through Central Texas this morning leaving a strong northwest to north wind. Wind will get as high as 20 to 30+ mph especially this afternoon.
High temperatures reached the 70s Saturday afternoon. Most highs today will peak in the mid to upper 60s with a few cities south to southeast of Austin rising to the low 70s.
Overnight lows will be cold as temperatures drop to the 30s in most of the area. Monday will be much cooler because of the cold start with most high temperatures rising only to a range of mid 50s to low 60s.
After another cold start Tuesday, with most lows again in the 30s, highs return to the mid to upper 60s to some low 70s.
Further warming results in highs Wednesday reaching the mid to upper 70s, then many around 80° Thursday.
The next cold front moves south late Thursday night leading to a cooler end to the week with highs back down to the mid to upper 50s to low 60s.
Next weekend will be cold. Lows both Saturday and Sunday mornings will drop to the low to mid 30s. Highs Saturday will reach the low to mid 50s, then warm to the mid to upper 50s Sunday.
Austin, TX
WrestleTix: WWE Smackdown | Fri • Dec 05 | Moody Center ATX at Austin, TX – Wrestlenomics
WWE Smackdown
Friday, December 5, 2025
Austin, TX at Moody Center ATX
Estimated tickets distributed: 7,881
Market-to-market comparisons (Austin, TX):
-
2022-06-18 (Sat) – UFC Fight Night: 13,935 (-43% vs. 7,881)
- 2022-06-24 (Fri) – WWE Smackdown: 6,199 (+27%) – SAME EVENT TYPE
- 2023-05-17 (Wed) – AEW Dynamite: 4,603 (+71%)
- 2024-08-12 (Mon) – WWE Raw: 12,269 (-36%)
- 2025-01-24 (Fri) – WWE Smackdown: 9,953 (-21%) – SAME EVENT TYPE
Year-over-year comparison for this event type:
Current 2025-Q4 WWE Smackdown average: (7,824) vs. 2024-Q4 (10,248): -24%
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The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major cities like Austin, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.
A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Austin — that amount is just under $75,000.
The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as “food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities.”
A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.
SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Central Texas, however, is slightly more expensive. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $24,118 to raise a child in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro.
In the report’s ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.
In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.
“This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied,” the report said. “With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child.”
The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:
- West Virginia – $68,099
- Arkansas – $68,141
- Mississippi – $70,242
- Kentucky – $70,408
- North Dakota – $70,949
- Oklahoma – $71,718
- Ohio – $72,114
- South Dakota – $72,218
- Alabama – $72,238
- Nebraska – $72,966
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