TEXAS, USA — September 1 will be a big day in Texas as a host of new bills, which began as ideas, will now become laws.
There is a good chance that most of us will notice at least some of the new laws Texans will now be living under, a list which probably includes some new rules that may have escaped your notice.
- Permitless carry: House Bill 1927 allows anyone who legally owns a gun to carry it in public. No license or training is needed. According to ProCon.org, Texas is one of 19 states with a similar law.
- Beer and wine sales will now be allowed on Sundays beginning at 10 a.m. instead of noon, giving you a chance to stock-up before the football game.
- The Star Spangled Banner Protection Act will require professional teams that have contracts with the state to play our national anthem prior to the start of every game.
- In education, the number of students allowed in any prekindergarten class will be reduced, with a cap now set at 22. That’s the same maximum size that applies to other elementary school grades.
- Texas will also join a handful of other states in banning the teaching of what has been called critical race theory.
- Some new items under the heading of law enforcement include police officers being required to keep their body-worn cameras on during any part of an investigation.
- Officers are prohibited from using chokeholds or excessive force during arrests, unless necessary to prevent injury to themselves or a bystander.
- A Texas Active Shooter Alert System is being created to send a phone notification to anyone near an active shooting scene
- Other laws of note include the expanded use and dosage of doctor-prescribed medical marijuana, primarily for those who are dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and for cancer patients, among others.
- Texas is also charting new legal territory, as we become the first state to make paying for sex a felony.