Permanent bans on no-knock police warrants and the enforcement of low-level marijuana possession in Austin could be established this year, after a petition calling for both measures was certified by the city Jan. 10.
Political and voter engagement group Ground Game Texas announced the city had certified its petition for the "Austin Freedom Act" containing the marijuana and no-knock measures, setting them up for a possible vote in Austin's May election. The policing and enforcement items now head to City Council, which can either call an election on the proposed Freedom Act ordinance or vote to approve it outright.
Ground Game said it submitted its petition in December with 33,332 signatures, one-fourth of which were randomly reviewed for certification. City Clerk Myrna Rios said Jan. 10 that more than 70% of the sample was validated, a margin leaving the petition well above Austin's requirement to get petitions on the ballot.
"We're so proud of the tremendous work of our organizers and volunteers who secured more than 30,000 signatures to put progressive change on the ballot in Austin," Ground Game's political director Mike Siegel said in a statement. "With the certification of the Austin Freedom Act, voters in Austin will soon have the ability to use their vote to end the criminalization of cannabis in their community and eliminate the dangerous practice of no-knock warrants by Austin police."
