Texas Hemp Business Council Issues Voter Guide on Hemp Policy

A questionnaire built for operators, not voters at large

The Texas Hemp Business Council released a candidate questionnaire on Oct. 7 that examines positions on the future of the state's hemp industry, according to Cannabis Business Times.

Framed by the trade group as a voter guide, the document works in practice as a compliance forecast. Candidates' answers tell operators which rules they should expect after the election.

Published details are brief. The description doesn't list the questions, the offices covered or the candidates who responded, and CannIntel hasn't independently reviewed the full guide. Treat what follows as context, not a summary of the candidates' answers.

What a questionnaire like this can and can't measure

A candidate questionnaire records stated positions, not votes, and the gap between the two is where hemp policy in Texas has been decided.

On a strict reading, a questionnaire answer binds no one. Words, not votes. A pledge to "support a regulated market" says nothing about whether that means licensing, age gates, product-form restrictions or outright prohibition.

Operators should look for specifics. Sorting answers by category is more useful than counting friendly ones:

• Licensing and testing requirements
• Age limits and retail placement
• Product-form restrictions, including smokable flower
• Which agency holds enforcement authority

The backdrop: a veto, an executive order and a federal deadline

Texas hemp policy has been set by three overlapping forces: a vetoed ban, a gubernatorial directive and a federal definition change due this November.

The Legislature passed SB 3 in 2025 to ban smokable hemp. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed it. He then issued a September 2025 executive order directing state agencies to tighten age verification for consumable hemp products. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) were tasked with carrying out that directive.

Federal law is now the larger variable. Congress's November 2025 spending package redefined hemp, capping finished products at 0.4 mg of total THC per container and excluding synthesized cannabinoids, according to the statute's text. That change takes effect in November 2026, about five weeks after the guide's release. The clock is short.

A state-level candidate can't repeal that. Whoever wins can shape how Texas responds to it.

The tax and compliance reading

Hemp's tax treatment turns on a definitional line, and the federal redefinition moves that line under Texas operators' feet.

IRC §280E denies deductions for businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II controlled substances. On a strict reading, hemp meeting the federal definition isn't one, which is why Texas hemp retailers have generally been able to deduct ordinary business expenses. Products that fall outside the narrowed definition lose that footing.

That doesn't mean every excluded product automatically triggers 280E. It means the analysis gets harder. Texas also has no personal income tax, so the pressure points for operators are federal returns and the state franchise tax on margin.

The questions that matter most to a hemp operator's balance sheet aren't the headline ones about bans. They're the narrow ones about definitions, licensing costs and which agency writes the rules.

What operators should do before Nov. 3

Operators should read the full guide, compare answers against the categories above and plan for the federal change regardless of who wins.

Start with inventory. Products above the 0.4 mg container threshold need a plan: reformulate, relabel or wind down. Then talk to a tax adviser about how a product's classification affects deductibility and state franchise tax computation.

Policy risk isn't evenly distributed. A THC beverage maker, a smokable flower retailer and a CBD wellness brand face different exposures from the same election. Pretending otherwise is lazy analysis.

For full background on this story, see the CannIntel topic hub on Texas hemp policy.

The next signals: how agencies implement the federal definition after it takes effect in November, and whether the Legislature revisits the SB 3 smokable hemp ban in its next session. The candidates who answered this questionnaire will help decide both.