If you live in the City of Houston, the last item on the ballot is a charter amendment. I didn’t write about it because if you like one but not both, you are screwed. I voted in favor not because I supported both parts, but because I decided the one I supported was more important than the other.
Today my wife asked me about it, so I think I should say a few words about the amendment.
Houston’s Proposition A combines two changes into one vote: make certain marijuana cases the police department’s lowest priority, and ban Houston officers from using no-knock search warrants. It would put those rules in the city charter—Houston’s basic rules for running city government. 2026 Charter Amendment Election Information
The first part tells police to put lower-level marijuana possession cases last. These are offenses called Class A and Class B misdemeanors. The goal is to direct police time and money toward more serious public safety problems. It also encourages treatment, community service, or other legal alternatives to arrest and prosecution. It would not legalize marijuana or guarantee that someone could not be arrested. Officers could still take suspected marijuana, and police and prosecutors would keep their authority to enforce state law. 2026 Charter Amendment Election Information
The city would also have to publicly report marijuana arrests, tickets, who was charged, and resources spent. That would let residents see how the policy is working. 2026 Charter Amendment Election Information
The second part requires officers to knock, identify themselves, and wait at least 15 seconds before carrying out a search warrant. A search warrant is a judge’s order allowing police to search a particular place. A no-knock warrant lets officers enter without first knocking and announcing themselves. This amendment would prohibit Houston officers from requesting, carrying out, or helping carry out warrants that lack that knock-and-wait requirement. It applies to search warrants generally, not just marijuana searches. Knocking does not mean police need the resident’s permission to enter under a valid warrant.
The knock is because of the Gaines case:
HOUSTON — A former Houston police officer was convicted Wednesday of murder in the deaths of a couple during a 2019 drug raid that revealed systemic corruption problems within the police department’s narcotics unit.
A jury found Gerald Goines guilty of two counts of murder in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his 58-year-old wife, Rhogena Nicholas. The couple, along with their dog, were fatally shot after officers burst into their home using a “no-knock” warrant that didn’t require them to announce themselves before entering. Source