They cover a wide variety of topics including education, transportation and even AI.
SAN ANTONIO — Labor Day may be a holiday for many, but laws in Texas never take a break. Hundreds of new laws that were passed by the Texas Legislature this year go into effect today that affect everyday life for Texans.
Many crime and public safety laws go into effect today, including human trafficking, strengthening policies for violent and sexual offenses, and protecting children. One of those is Senate Bill 835, also known as “Trey’s Law,” banning and voiding the use of nondisclosure agreements, or NDA’s, in sexual assault and human trafficking cases.
Big changes in education policy go into effect today, that affect public schools, childcare, colleges and parental rights. Senate Bill 10 requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms and Senate Bill 11 which allows school districts to set aside time for prayer.
Rabbi Mara Nathan, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Texas Ten Commandments Law told us, “Any student who isn’t Christian, or isn’t even Protestant, is going to feel left out and excluded from what is seen as the main perspective of the state.”
Many transportation laws go into effect today including bills designating highways to fallen officers and veterans to others affecting everyday motorists. As of Monday, paper temporary license plates are no longer valid which prevents criminals from exploiting a loophole in Texas law that allowed fake temporary tags to be sold. George Abdallah, the general manager of Adam Sports Car added, “I think it will help a lot because anyone who has paper plates in the streets, they can just take a picture, print it out and anyone could use those plates.”
A wide-ranging slate of health-related laws go into effect today, affecting hospitals, insurance coverage and mental health. House Bill 46 expands the state’s medical marijuana program and allows doctors to prescribe inhaled aerosol products including vapes to patients.