Key Takeaways
- Texas hemp businesses await a critical court hearing on December 8, as the appeal affects compliance with current regulations.
- The Texas Hemp Business Council is challenging DSHS’s rules, which they believe will hinder industry growth and fairness.
- THBC seeks to regain a temporary injunction against DSHS and to have its case returned for a permanent injunction trial.
- Current DSHS rules remain enforceable, including new THC testing standards and licensing fees, until the court rules otherwise.
- The outcome will impact how THC content is calculated for hemp products sold in Texas, making it a pivotal moment for the industry.
Texas hemp businesses finally have a date circled on the calendar. After months of briefing, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for December 8, giving both sides 20 minutes to make their case directly to a three-justice panel. But getting a hearing date isn’t the same as winning, and the rules at the center of this fight aren’t going anywhere until the court says otherwise.
That matters more than it might seem. For hemp manufacturers and retailers across Texas, the gap between what the Texas Hemp Business Council is asking for and what the court has actually ordered is the difference between operating under the old testing standard and continuing to comply with rules the industry says never should have existed in the first place.
What Triggered the Texas Hemp Rules Appeal?
The dispute traces back to March 31, 2026, when DSHS rolled out sweeping changes to the Texas Consumable Hemp Program under 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 300. The new rules introduced a “total delta-9 THC” standard that counts THCA, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid precursor, toward the state’s 0.3 percent THC limit. They also added annual licensing fees of $10,000 for manufacturers and $5,000 for retailers, new restrictions on transporting hemp ingredients into Texas, and expanded testing and recordkeeping obligations.
THBC and other industry plaintiffs sued on April 7, arguing DSHS exceeded the authority the Texas Legislature actually granted it. A Travis County court agreed, at least preliminarily, issuing a temporary restraining order on April 10 and a full temporary injunction on May 1 after finding plaintiffs had shown a probable right to relief.
The State appealed immediately, which automatically lifted the injunction. What followed was a back-and-forth: the Fifteenth Court temporarily reinstated the injunction on May 7, then lifted it again on June 5 at the State’s request. A rehearing request was denied June 26. Since then, DSHS’s rules have remained enforceable while the underlying appeal plays out.
What Is THBC Actually Asking the Court to Do?
This is where the gap between request and reality comes into focus. THBC isn’t just asking the Fifteenth Court to weigh in on a technical dispute. The council wants three specific things: affirmance of the trial court’s original injunction order, reinstatement of that injunction so DSHS can’t enforce the challenged provisions, and a return of the case to the district court so it can proceed toward a trial on a permanent injunction.
In plain terms, THBC wants the protective pause restored while the case gets decided on its merits. Until that happens, hemp businesses are stuck complying with rules the industry argues are unlawful.
What Has the Court Actually Ordered?
Here’s the reality check. Setting a hearing date is a procedural step, not a ruling. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals has not reinstated the injunction, and nothing about the December 8 scheduling order changes that. According to THBC’s own update, “the challenged rules remain enforceable at this stage. Neither the amicus filing nor the scheduling of oral argument restores the injunction.”
That’s a meaningful distinction for any business trying to plan around this litigation. The State is asking the appeals court to go the opposite direction entirely: reverse the trial court’s injunction order and dismiss THBC’s claims outright. If the State prevails in full, the case wouldn’t return to the district court at all unless THBC sought further review from the Texas Supreme Court.
A third outcome is also possible. The appellate court could issue a mixed ruling, affirming part of the trial court’s order while reversing other portions. That could mean some claims survive and others don’t, or that only part of the injunction gets restored.
Why the THCA Testing Standard Is the Real Flashpoint
The Texas hemp regulations dispute centers on a technical but consequential question: should regulators count THCA when determining whether a product meets the state’s 0.3 percent delta-9 THC legal threshold?
House Bill 1325, the law that originally established Texas’s hemp framework, requires cultivators to test for THCA conversion before harvest. But the testing requirements that apply later in the supply chain, at the processing, manufacturing and retail stages, don’t include that same language. THBC and its supporting amici argue this distinction wasn’t accidental. The Legislature used specific testing language for pre-harvest cultivation and deliberately left it out of the provisions governing consumable hemp products.
DSHS’s position is that its total THC standard reflects a reasonable reading of its authority to regulate cannabinoid testing statewide. The agency also points to federal and historical state practices that factored THCA into similar calculations.
Whichever way the court rules, the outcome will shape how THC content gets calculated for every finished hemp product sold in Texas.
An Amicus Brief Adds Weight to the Industry’s Case
On October 1, the Texas Hemp Constitutional Alliance and TSVL LLC, doing business as Green Nation, filed an amicus brief supporting THBC’s position. Amicus briefs let outside parties offer the court additional legal arguments, and this one zeroes in specifically on the total THC standard and its associated testing requirements.
The brief makes two central arguments. First, it contends the Legislature’s choice to require THCA-inclusive testing only at the pre-harvest stage was deliberate, not an oversight DSHS is free to correct through rulemaking. Second, it argues that DSHS’s new testing regime effectively eliminates compliance pathways the Legislature built into the law, pathways that let businesses demonstrate compliance without testing THCA conversion at every stage of production.
The brief frames the dispute in broader terms, too, describing the case as being about “the constitutional lawmaking process” rather than hemp policy specifically. That framing could matter to a panel weighing how much deference to give an agency’s interpretation of its own authority.
What December 8 Means for Hemp Businesses Right Now
For operators trying to plan inventory, testing protocols or compliance budgets, the practical takeaway is straightforward: nothing changes on December 8 itself. The hearing gives the three-justice panel, Chief Justice Scott Brister and Justices Scott Field and April Farris, a chance to question both sides on arguments already submitted in writing. Each side gets 20 minutes, with the State presenting first and potentially reserving time for rebuttal.
A written opinion will follow at some unspecified later date. There’s no deadline requiring the court to rule quickly, and the timing could be influenced by November’s judicial elections depending on whether the current panel remains in place. Until a decision comes down, Texas hemp businesses should continue treating DSHS’s March 31 rules, including the total THC calculation, licensing fees and testing requirements, as fully enforceable.
What Comes After Oral Argument?
Once argument concludes, the case moves into what’s called “submission,” meaning the court has everything it needs to issue a ruling. That process can take months. If THBC prevails and the injunction is restored, the case returns to the Travis County district court for further proceedings, including discovery and eventually a trial on a permanent injunction. If the State prevails outright, the litigation likely ends unless THBC pursues review from the Texas Supreme Court.
Either way, the December 8 hearing represents a meaningful checkpoint, not a conclusion. Texas hemp businesses watching this case should keep an eye on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals’ docket and treat current rules as binding until a court says otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Oral argument in Texas Department of State Health Services v. Texas Hemp Business Council is scheduled for December 8, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. Central before the Fifteenth Court of Appeals in Austin.
Yes. The DSHS rules adopted March 31, 2026, including the total THC testing standard, licensing fees and transport restrictions, remain fully enforceable. The trial court’s temporary injunction is not currently in effect.
THBC wants the Fifteenth Court of Appeals to affirm the trial court’s original injunction, reinstate that injunction, and send the case back to the district court for a trial on a permanent injunction.
DSHS’s rules count THCA toward the state’s 0.3 percent total THC limit, which industry plaintiffs argue conflicts with how the Legislature structured testing requirements under House Bill 1325 and effectively eliminates existing compliance pathways.
If the State prevails in full, the appellate court could dismiss THBC’s claims entirely, and the case would not return to the district court unless THBC successfully sought further review from the Texas Supreme Court.
