HOUSTON \u2013 One item on Houston voters\u2019 Nov. 3 ballots could put two policing policies into the city charter. <\/p>\n
Proposition A<\/a> would ban Houston police officers from requesting or executing no-knock search warrants and require the Houston Police Department (HPD) to make enforcement of Class A and Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession its lowest law-enforcement priority. <\/p>\n Voters cannot choose between the two provisions. A \u201cyes\u201d vote would approve the entire charter amendment, while a \u201cno\u201d would reject it. <\/p>\n The measure would not legalize marijuana in Houston. Possession would remain illegal under Texas law. <\/p>\n SEE: Texas election guide 2026: Dates, voting requirements and Houston-area contacts<\/a><\/p>\n What else would Proposition A require? <\/p>\n The proposal goes beyond changing enforcement priorities. <\/p>\n If approved, Houston would conduct a one-time audit looking back at five years of misdemeanor marijuana enforcement. That review would include arrests, citations, and demographic information. <\/p>\n The city would also be required to issue annual reports containing information including arrests, citations, referrals to diversion programs, and staff time used for enforcement. <\/p>\n Why supporters want the policy in writing<\/p>\n The proposal originated with Ground Game Texas and reached the ballot after roughly 40,000 Houstonians signed the petition. <\/p>\n Supporters argue that putting the restrictions into the city charter would prevent a future police chief from reversing the policies. <\/p>\n They also nodded to the 2019 Harding Street raid<\/a>, when Dennis Tuttle<\/a> and Rhogena Nicholas<\/a> were killed after Houston police entered their home using a no-knock warrant secured with false information. <\/p>\n