Written by by Luca Cacciatore at texasscorecard.com
In several Thursday legal filings, Paxton singled out Austin and four other cities—San Marcos, Killeen, Denton, and Elgin—for allegedly violating Title 11, Section 370.003 of the Texas Local Government Code, which forbids cities from adopting policies to not enforce drug laws.
He also claimed the cities were in violation of Article 9, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution, a provision that states it is unlawful for municipalities to adopt ordinances inconsistent with laws enacted by the Texas Legislature.
“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,” stated Paxton.
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.
Notably, none of Paxton’s argument hinges on the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a Schedule I illegal substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971.