Citizen-led petition drives have resulted in a couple of public safety initiatives landing on the ballot in Dallas for the upcoming November elections.
Voters will decide on whether to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and whether to increase staffing for the Dallas Police Department, after Dallas City Council voted Aug. 14 to put the charter amendments on the ballot. The council votes were a formality in these cases, as the petitions met the minimum 20,000 signatures needed to be placed on the ballot.
While these charter amendments might not directly impact businesses, they speak to the competing visions for public safety governance in the largest city in the Metroplex. And that makes them items to watch for shop owners, CEOs, Realtors and other professionals.
The marijuana decriminalization effort, referred to as the Dallas Freedom Act, would update the city charter to ban arrests and citations of people carrying up to 4 ounces of marijuana unless part of a felony investigation involving violence or narcotics.
The proposition would also ban police officers from considering the smell of marijuana as probable cause for a search or seizure unless part of a felony investigation.
If approved, it would make Dallas the largest city in Texas to ban arrests for low-level marijuana possession, and would likely receive pushback from Attorney General Ken Paxton who’s argued similar ordinances in other cities violate Texas law, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Advocacy groups and supporters behind the proposal including Ground Game Texas say the amendment would allow police more time to investigate more serious offenses and would decrease enforcement disparities where Black people make up the majority of those arrested and jailed for drug possession.
While recreation marijuana is illegal in Texas, medical marijuana with low levels of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol is legal through a state-administered program and hemp products like cannabidiol are also legal under federal law.
Recreational marijuana is legal in about two dozen states. A survey of 1,200 Texans released in May found 60% of them supported state legalization of the drug for recreational use, DMN reported.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Council Members Carolyn King Arnold, Cara Mendelsohn and Kathy Stewart voted against putting the item on the ballot. Critics of the measure say it could lead to more drug sales and violent crime.
The other public safety charter amendment, spearheaded by a group called Dallas HERO, would set the minimum DPD staffing level at 4,000 — compared with 3,070 as of May, according to NBC 5. And it would require the city to maintain a ratio of three officers per 1,000 residents while also boosting starting pay.
Other charter amendments will also be up for votes. Voters will again decide whether noncitizens should be allowed to serve on some boards and commissions, KERA News reported. And two other petition initiatives by Dallas HERO would evaluate the city manager with an annual community survey and make it easier to sue the city for allegedly not adhering to state or local laws.
H/T: www.bizjournals.com
