How this score is worked out
Seven kinds of act move this number, and they do not count equally. A recorded vote counts 3, and so does authoring a bill or signing an executive action; signing on to somebody else’s bill counts 2. A statement or a questionnaire answer counts 2 as well, and an organisational endorsement counts 1. A vote takes its direction from the bill, whose effect is set out in advance; the rest take it from our reading of what was said, and each one below shows that reading and the reason for it. Acts shown with no number were examined and deliberately left out of the arithmetic, with a reason given.
- 2026-09-09 questionnaire — Chose "Strongly Support" on maintaining a legal hemp marketplace and answered that regulation is preferable to prohibition. The answer also said the Legislature rather than an agency should make the significant decisions, which is a position on how the law is made and not on whether the products stay legal, counted as +2 at weight 2
Average on the −2 to +2 scale: 2. Full method and the bill table.
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Questionnaire2026-09-09
Said responsible hemp businesses should be able to operate under transparent rules, and set out a detailed testing and age-limit framework, in the Texas Hemp Business Council’s 2026 candidate questionnaire. The council is a hemp industry trade association; it put twenty questions to 223 candidates for the Texas Legislature and statewide office and publishes the answers it receives in full, without editing. These are the candidate’s own words, submitted by the candidate.
Asked about the future of hemp in Texas, the answer was, in full: "Responsible Texas businesses should have a fair opportunity to operate under transparent and consistently enforced rules. As the industry evolves, Texas should engage stakeholders and constituents, protect children and consumers, hold bad actors accountable, and ensure significant policy decisions remain with the Legislature." Asked who should be permitted to sell THC, to whom and with what safeguards: "THC-containing products should be sold only through appropriately licensed or registered businesses operating within the authority granted by Texas law.
Non-medical hemp-derived cannabinoid products should be limited to adults 21 and older, with meaningful age verification at the point of sale. Products should be accurately labeled for cannabinoid content and serving size and subject to independent testing for potency, contaminants, pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, and harmful microorganisms. Medical cannabis prescribed through the Texas Compassionate Use Program should remain subject to the separate requirements applicable to patients, physicians, and licensed dispensing organizations.
Reasonable safeguards should also include child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging, restrictions on marketing designed to appeal primarily to children, appropriate warning labels, traceability, retailer compliance requirements, and meaningful enforcement against businesses that sell unlawful, contaminated, adulterated, or intentionally mislabeled products." On the questionnaire’s fixed-choice questions: on maintaining a legal, regulated hemp marketplace, "Strongly Support"; on whether regulation is preferable to prohibition where a product can be made and sold safely, "Yes"; on retail regulation, "Reasonable statewide licensing/registration".
The date is the date the council recorded the submission, in Central time.
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