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The Texas legislature is currently in its second extraordinary session. Lawmakers have been working on a series of bills deemed a high priority by Gov. Greg Abbott. These include proposals to make it less easy to get out of jail on bail and new restrictions on voting, among other things.
The legislature still has other business to attend to in the coming weeks before the extraordinary session ends, such as allocating federal funds for COVID-19 recovery and mapping new political districts — a process that could change which politicians they represent which parts of the state and that will surely generate controversy.
But while the legislative work continues, there are already 666 new laws that were passed during the regular legislative session that concluded in May. These went into effect on Wednesday, September 1.
Reporters from the Texas Newsroom, a multi-station collaboration in the state, broke down some of the laws that will have the most impact.
The Law of the 'Fetal Heartbeat'
Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers passed a bill that bans abortions before most women know they're pregnant.
Senate Bill 8 (or SB 8) is one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. According to various experts, this usually occurs at six weeks of gestation, a period during which, in most cases, a woman is not even aware that she is pregnant. The previous law allowed abortions up to 20 weeks of gestation.
Unlike other similar laws around the country, the Texas law does not establish criminal penalties for those who defy it — but it does allow private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman get an abortion.
Abortion clinics say the new law constitutes a near total ban on the medical procedure and will deprive people of this service almost entirely.
Zaena Zamora, executive director of the Frontera Fund abortion financial support group, said SB 8 could put her group and other similar organizations at legal risk.
“It makes our job somewhat impossible, because we will always be putting ourselves at risk of being sued,” Zamora said.
On Monday, abortion providers in Texas asked the US Supreme Court to stop the law. The court ruled Wednesday that the law will stand for now.
Carrying Weapons Without a License
Texans have had the right to carry firearms in public since 1995. Since then, more laws have been enacted to expand this right, as long as carriers obtain a license to carry their guns outside of their homes or vehicles.
That changed as of Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1927 allows anyone who can legally possess a firearm to also carry it in public, as long as it is in a holster.
Texas is now the 20th state to enact laws that its supporters refer to as "constitutional bearing arms," something they say is a right granted by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The law does not change the eligibility process for owning firearms. Homeowners in Texas must still be at least 21 years old and cannot have been convicted of a felony or domestic violence within the last five years. The new law also adds several misdemeanors to the list, including assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, terroristic threat, and disorderly conduct with a firearm.
Gun control advocates, public safety agencies and gun instructors opposed the law. According to data obtained from polls conducted by the University of Texas and the political newspaper Texas Tribune, almost 60% of Texans oppose the carrying of firearms without a license.
"I think this will mean more handguns in public," said Gyl Switzer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense. "And the data shows us over and over again that guns don't make us safer."
New Voting Laws
The main focus of this extraordinary legislative session has been the Senate Bill 1 (or SB 1 for its acronym in English), backed by the Republican Party. SB1 would prohibit things like being able to vote without leaving your vehicle and the operation of 24-hour vote centers. All that remains is for Governor Abbott to sign the law to pass it.
But other less popular voting laws have already been passed and went into effect this week. Among these: Senate Bill 111, which prohibits Texas voters from registering using a post office box as an address; Senate Bill 1113, which allows the Secretary of State to cut funds from local election officials who fail to remove certain ineligible individuals from their voter rolls; and House Bill 3920, which makes it more difficult to apply for a mail-in ballot for medical reasons.
But there are also other less controversial laws.
House Bill 1382 is a bipartisan measure that allows people who vote by mail to track their ballots online to ensure they have been received.
Meanwhile, House Bill 1128 makes it very clear who can be present at polling places during elections. Authorized persons include voters, poll workers, election judges, and police forces.
Election administrators and staff will also be allowed in the precincts, but only to deliver materials and provide technical support.
State Rep. Jacey Jetton, a Sugarland Republican and co-author of the bill, said nothing will change for the average voter.
"If you were able to vote last year, you're not going to find a difference," Jetton said. "You're going to walk in, show your ID, you're going to go to a voting booth, cast your vote, and voila."
Felony Charges For Protesters Blocking Roads And Hospitals
Texas protesters could face felony charges for blocking a highway or the entrance to a hospital after a new law took effect Wednesday.
House Bill 9 was born out of a protest in California last year in which a group of anti-police protesters prevented two officers from being admitted to an emergency room.
Under the previous law, protesters in Texas faced misdemeanor charges with up to six months in prison. The new law increases the sentence to two years.
The law will also require 10 days in jail if the alleged crime is committed by a person who is on probation.
“As a nurse who has worked in emergency situations, every second counts,” said state Rep. Stephanie Klick, a Fort Worth Republican and co-author of the bill. "A delay of just minutes can mean the difference between life and death."
On the other hand, Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso said the punishment is too harsh.
"What we're doing here is creating a mandatory minimum sentence that is not consistent with anything we have," Moody said. “In our first-offender law, the only place we find anything like that is when we have repeat offenders.”
Banning 'Critical Race Theory'
This spring, Texas passed laws targeting the teaching of so-called "critical race theory," even though many educators say they don't teach it. According to teachers, most people don't even know what it is.
Nikki Jones, who teaches African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley, described critical race theory as a way of understanding how race has influenced the making of laws throughout the history of this country — laws that came to justify things like slavery and violence.
"It's one way of looking at race," Jones said. "It helps to understand and see racism in places where it might not otherwise be superficially apparent."
House Bill 3979 addresses critical race theory without even naming it. State Rep. Steven Toth, a Republican from The Woodlands and author of the bill, says the law is intended to teach complex issues like slavery and racism without making white children feel guilty.
"We need to teach about the evils, but you can't blame this generation," Toth said. "Children are being attacked."
Texas history professors say they haven't attacked anyone. Critics of the bill, meanwhile, classify it as a political game.
Homeless Camp Ban
Another new Texas law bans homeless encampments around the state.
House Bill 1925 criminalizes setting up a shelter or storing belongings for an extended period, creating a new Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Many believe the legislation is a response to a move the city of Austin took in 2019 to decriminalize homeless encampments. This was overturned in May by a popular vote of Austinites. The law also limits the use of parks for the installation of temporary camps.
Expanding Access To Medical Cannabis
Thousands of Texans are now eligible to receive low-THC medical cannabis oil.
Not only that, the maximum amount of THC allowed in that oil has been doubled.
Under House Bill 1535, the percentage of THC in medical cannabis oil, the ingredient in marijuana that can produce psychotropic effects, can increase from 0.5% to 1%.
The law also makes all types of cancer eligible for use of these products. Previously, only patients with "terminal" cancer were eligible.
“You can say that all types of cancer can be terminal, right?” he said.
Jax Finkel, executive director of the Texas National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "So it felt like a pretty arbitrary description."
The law also expands the use of this medicine for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Originally, only veterans with PTSD were eligible. That changed after a large number of veterans advocated expanding this treatment, saying all people with PTSD should have equal access.
However, the use of low-THC products is still quite restricted in Texas.
According to a poll conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune political news site this year, just over 10% of Texans believe marijuana should remain illegal in the state.
Educational Credits For Veterans Service
A new law could help about 1.5 million veterans living in Texas get academic credit for skills they learned in the military.
House Bill 33 aims to create a universal catalog to validate certain military training so that it can be used as academic credit toward degrees and certificate programs at Texas colleges and universities.
State Rep. Alex Dominguez, a Brownsville Democrat who co-authored the bill, said the goal is to reduce redundancy for veterans and help them integrate more quickly into the civilian workforce.
“My goal is to post this list, so veterans can see what they would qualify for,” Dominguez said. “A veteran may be leaving military service after always working in the infantry. But he may notice that he has developed skills that would help him get a job in the police force, or as a paramedic, for example."
Right now, Texas has about 600 institutions of higher education that include trade schools, technical schools, and universities. Currently, only 15 institutions have partnered with the American Council on Education to assess whether or not a person's military coursework could be transferred to a program or certificate.
Dominguez said the Texas Workforce Commission would work with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to complete the catalog by January 2023.
Making it Difficult to Sue Trucking Companies
Texas has more fatal crashes involving large trucks than any other state, and drivers may be right to be even more cautious on the roads going forward.
A new law that went into effect Wednesday makes it harder to sue commercial trucking companies after an accident.
House Bill 19 allows a trucking company to request a two-party lawsuit. The actions of the truck driver can be analyzed in the first and, if the driver is considered negligent, the trial can analyze the role of the company.
Trial attorney Lin McCraw said this "fork" will make the process longer and more expensive.
"We're going to have these experts come in and testify in the first part of the trial, and then we're going to have to bring them back to testify again with all the associated costs of doing so," McCraw said.
That could make it harder for people to sue to recover medical bills and lost wages, McCraw said. Highway safety advocates voiced opposition to the legislation when it was introduced to lawmakers last spring.
But the Texas Trucking Association says the law will curb superficial and abusive lawsuits.
This story was contributed by Houston Public Media's reporters Paul DeBenedetto, Florian Martin, and Andrew Schneider; Bret Jaspers, Haya Panjwani, Ana Perez and Bill Zeeble from KERA; Ashley Lopez, Jerry Quijano and Andrew Weber of KUT; and Carolina Cuellar and Carson Frame of Texas Public Radio.
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Translated by Carola Guerrero de León.
