Public Safety Commission approves implementation plan to expand Texas Compassionate Use Program under House Bill 46

The Public Safety Commission approved a plan to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program to 15 licensees, the commission said at its August meeting.

Chief Wayne Miller, chief of the Regulatory Services Division, told commissioners the legislature directed the department to add 12 licensees to reach a total of 15 and to use a competitive, scored selection process to decide which applicants receive licenses under House Bill 46. "The legislature has now said this program is to have 15 licensees and so we need to add 12," Miller said.

Miller said the expansion will be executed in two phases. The department will prioritize applications already on file from 2023 for the first nine new slots; those applicants may supplement but not wholly rewrite their prior submissions. A dual application window opens August 8 and closes September 15, 2025; phase‑1 applicants can submit limited supplemental materials, and new applicants can submit fresh applications during the same period. Miller said the department will refuse applications that create conflicts such as physician involvement in ownership or duplicate ownership across multiple applications.

The department will publicly post the scoring rubric and selection criteria on its website. Miller described four scoring categories: infrastructure and facility security; internal accountability and anti‑diversion measures; financial stability and liquidity (including Dun & Bradstreet or similar verifications); and technical/laboratory capability for manufacturing and testing. The selection committee will be nine DPS employees who will score and rank applications; the department plans to announce the first nine conditionally approved licensees by Dec. 1, 2025, as required by the statute. The remaining three expansion slots must be named by April 1, 2026; those three may come from applications received in either phase.

Miller said the law permits each awarded licensee to be assigned a health‑region responsibility (using Texas Health and Human Services health regions) to improve statewide access. A licensee assigned to a region may establish either a cultivation/manufacturing center in that region or a satellite dispensing location; the satellite locations are limited to storage and dispensing, not cultivation or manufacturing. Miller emphasized the department will require evidence of ability to stand up operations and sustain ongoing operations, citing a 24‑month statutory window for conditional licensees to become operational.

Commissioners asked procedural questions about how much prior applicants may amend and how the department will handle conflicts. Commissioner Blair confirmed he has no application and made the motion to approve the implementation plan; Commissioner Stodjell seconded. The motion passed.

Why this matters: House Bill 46 imposes firm deadlines and statewide‑coverage requirements and directs a competitive ranking process. The commission's plan sets an application schedule, supplemental documentation requirements and selection procedures that will determine where new licensed producers and dispensers operate in Texas.

The department will publish the supplemental application details and scoring sheet on its website and notify phase‑1 applicants individually. Applicants who timely withdraw by Aug. 15 will be eligible for a refund of their prior application fee (about $7,300); after that date fees are nonrefundable and the application remains under consideration.

Details to watch: the department said it will prioritize the first nine slots from existing 2023 applicants but will reserve three slots for applicants from either phase; the selection committee will rank applicants and create a three‑applicant eligibility list to replace any licensee that cannot become operational within the statutory 24 months.

Provenance: First related transcript excerpt: "Item A, Texas Compassionate Use Program teacup update. Chief Wayne Miller." Last related transcript excerpt: "We have a motion from commissioner Blair and a second from commissioner Stodgill to improve the implementation plan ... Motion passes."