Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit Thursday targeting the blue city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalizes marijuana.

Paxton alleges that Proposition R, which “prohibits the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure,” violates state law.

The attorney general argues in the lawsuit that the ballot measure is preempted by Texas law, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana. Paxton also claims the Texas Constitution prohibits municipalities from adopting an ordinance that conflicts with laws enacted by the state legislature.

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“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a statement. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them.”

Paxton called the ballot measure “a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution” and threatened to sue any other city that “tries to constrain police in this fashion.” 

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A flower bud of marijuana.  (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

The lawsuit comes after interim Dallas Police Department Chief Michael Igo directed Dallas police officers not to enforce marijuana laws against those found to be in possession of less than 4 ounces. 

Ground Game Texas, a progressive nonprofit group that campaigned in favor of the ballot measure, argued it would help “keep people out of jail for marijuana possession,” “reduce racially biased policing” and “save millions in public funding.” 

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A mature marijuana plant begins to bloom under artificial lights at Loving Kindness Farms in Gardena, Calif., May 20, 2019. Paxton has sued the city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.  (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” said Catina Voellinger, executive director for Ground Game Texas.

“Judges in Travis and Hays counties have already dismissed identical lawsuits filed there. The Dallas Freedom Act was overwhelmingly approved by 67% of voters — this is democracy in action.”

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Since January 2024, Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana possession, arguing these policies promote crime, drug abuse and violence. 

The Texas Longhorns are heading back to Austin with some early-season tournament hardware in hand.

Tre Johnson battled through another poor shooting night but closed the game out for Texas once again, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Longhorns to a 67-58 win over Saint Joseph’s at the Legends Classic championship round in Brooklyn Friday night.

Transfer guard Julian Larry sparked the Longhorns late, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Arthur Kaluma added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds.

The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming, who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Xzayvier Brown added 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

The Longhorns jumped out to an 11-6 lead after seven early points from Kaluma. St. Joe’s started out cold from the field but controlled the game with hard-nosed defense and the occasional press while dominating the offensive glass. This was highlighted by a possession where the Hawks got four consecutive offensive rebounds but only scored one point as a result.

Johnson stayed aggressive on offense for Texas but was off on his shot and was impacted by the on-ball defense of St. Joe’s.

Mark, Pope and Johnson all hit a triple for Texas in about a two-minute span ahead of halftime to give the Longhorns their biggest lead at 32-26 but the Hawks responded with a free throw from Haskins 3-pointer from Brown before halftime to cut the lead to 32-30.

The defense from the Hawks ramped up even more, as the Longhorns were stuck in the mud on offense and had little to no ball movement. St. Joe’s was hardly much better, but its defense continued to set the tone and eventually swung the momentum.

Larry then hit back-to-back triples as the two teams traded buckets on five straight possessions. Consecutive dunks from Ajogbor and Fleming but the Hawks in front 50-46 with 8:25 to play, but Larry continued to take over. He hit 1,000 career points with a driving layup before finding Kaluma for a corner triple to put Texas back in front at 51-50.

It didn’t stop there for Larry, who found a cutting Shedrick for a dunk before diving on a loose ball down at the other end to secure possession for Texas, which had built a 55-52 lead with 3:13 left. The Longhorns used the momentum to put together an 8-0 run, which essentially sealed the win in a game where scoring felt hard to come by.

Johnson then closed the game out with six points in the final 4:11 of action, including a pullup jumper at the foul line to put Texas up 63-55 with 1:19 left.

Texas will host Delaware State on Nov. 29.

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WASHINGTON — State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said Friday he plans to meet with top University of Texas System officials after they announced a plan to provide free tuition and waived fees to students whose families make $100,000 or less.

While many elected officials have praised the initiative, Harrison criticized it as an “abuse of power” that makes Texas higher education “more socialist than California.”

Harrison said Friday he’s unswayed by statements from the system and supporters who say the move will be funded from university endowments, not taxpayers.

Harrison compared such statements to someone saying they’re removing water from the shallow side of a pool, not the deep end. It’s all the same water.

“Money is fungible, so that doesn’t satisfy me in the slightest,” Harrison said.

The new initiative is an expansion of the Promise Plus Program, a needs-based financial aid initiative, and comes amid widespread concerns about the impact of inflation and college costs on families. Gov. Greg Abbott recently prohibited Texas colleges and universities from raising tuition for the next two years.

UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken hailed the expansion as a “game changer” that will make “enormous, real difference” to improve college access for all Texans.

Not everyone is a fan.

Harrison and like-minded House colleagues have compared it to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that drew intense blowback from conservatives and was largely struck down by the courts. They also said such a consequential change in policy should come from the elected lawmakers serving in the Legislature.

“There must be consequences,” Harrison said on X. “UT’s budget must be cut, and bureaucrats should be fired.”

He led 10 Republican lawmakers, most of them incoming freshmen, in a letter to the regents demanding answers to a litany of questions, including the price tag of the expansion and the source of that money.

“What specific statutory authority did the regents rely on to make a decision this consequential, which will have direct financial consequences for our constituents, many of whom are already struggling to put gas in their tanks and food on their tables?” the lawmakers wrote.

UT System spokesman Paul Corliss has said the program is not funded through taxes or any kind of public subsidy.

“Rather it is funded through existing UT System endowments,” Corliss said.

Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, hammered that point in a response to Harrison on social media.

“There are no tax dollars involved,” Howard said on X. “Higher Ed institutions are already helping families afford college. This expands philanthropic endowments and helps meet affordability goals of [Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board].”

Harrison and his colleagues will have to contend with many members of the public embracing a plan that already is encouraging young people to adjust their higher education aspirations.

Frank Whitefeather, a high school senior, stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Friday working on his college application essay.

He was freshly motivated after the announcement that students whose families make less than $100,000 annually will get free tuition and waived fees at the University of Texas at Austin and other schools in the UT System.

“I wouldn’t be in debt,” said Whitefeather, 17. “I wouldn’t have to have student loans.”

Whitefeather, who attends Dallas ISD’s Sunset High School, thinks the UT news also could change many of his peers’ lives. It’s already changing his plans. Whitefeather hopes to study engineering and be his own boss one day. Texas A&M and UT Austin were his top two choices, but the free tuition announcement has pushed UT ahead.

Harrison said the university system is being contradictory by simultaneously saying it has enough money to offer tuition-free education, but also that a tuition freeze could leave it cash strapped and require more funding from the Legislature.

“I guarantee you they’re going to be requesting more tax money from the Legislature next session,” he said.