Governor Vows to Always Have Back
of Small Business Before SB 3 Verdict
Capitol Inside
June 18, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott could be on the verge of a veto that kills a bill banning THC in Texas based on social media posts that have portrayed him as a small business champion in the countdown to a deadline for signing or killing legislation that emerged from the regular session in 2025.
"This week, I signed multiple laws to reduce burdensome barriers and support small businesses in Texas," the Republican governor said on his X page on Thursday. "Small businesses are the backbone of the Texas economy. And we will always have their back."
Abbott appeared to be setting the potential stage for a red pen strike that puts the THC prohibition in Senate Bill 3 to rest with a post on Wednesday night on several bills that he'd enacted with his signature "to reduce barriers for small businesses and prioritize ordinary Texans" across the state.
Some inside the Austin beltway interpreted that as a possible attempt in advance to mitigate the backlash he could expect if he signs SB 3 in a move that would wipe out a thriving industry that revolves on small businesses. But the Abbott post today does not seem like the kind of statement that a governor wouldn't be inclined to make if he planned to sign a law that's a death warrant for more than 10,000 small businesses that entrepreneurs have built from scratch and operated legally for six years here.
Abbott has to make the final call on the THC ban by Sunday night but could announce a verdict sooner if he chooses. Abbott has faced unprecedented pressure to invalidate SB 3 with the red pen - and he has a myriad of compelling reasons for a veto.
The governor could be viewed as a savior for countless veterans, farmers and small business owners and their employees in an industry that employs more than 53,000 people if he vetoes the cannabis prohibition. Abbott could claim to be protecting freedom that substantial numbers of conservatives say he will be taking away if he signs SB 3 or lets it become law. Conservative radio show hosts from Lubbock to Dallas to Houston have encouraged the governor to kill the measure.
But Abbott has another motive for a veto that he isn't going to acknowledge publicly. He could send a message to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick about the wages of trying to pressure him publicly on the fate of legislation or other duties that Abbott has the singular authority to carry out.
Patrick has waged an unprecedented campaign to prevent a veto on SB 3 based on information that's inaccurate and wildly unbelievable at times without coming up with any legitimate evidence to support his case that hemp retailers are peddling products illegally, poisoning school children, destroying families and leaving a sordid trail of addiction in their wake.
Patrick hasn't said whether he was behind raids that suburban police from Allen carried out in Dallas this week with apparent assists from federal Drug Enforcement Agency agents at three distribution centers for hemp products infused with THC. The timing of the searches and seizures in Dallas appeared highly suspicious just days before Abbott's deadline on SB 3.
Patrick has been hoping that the pressure tactics have the same effect on Abbott in his deliberations on the THC ban as they did when he scared House Republicans into supporting it with threats on the eve of the initial vote.
more to come ...
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