Every odd-numbered year, state lawmakers convene in Austin and debate hundreds of proposed bills with potential to affect tens of millions of Texans who call the Lone Star State home. More than 750 new laws take effect . That鈥檚 on top of 321 passed this year that took effect after being signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, along with taking effect in 2024.
The Texas Newsroom and partner stations across the state break down some of the key items below.
A ban on gender-affirming care.
One of the year鈥檚 measures, Senate Bill 14, bans transgender people under 18 years old from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies 鈥� two of the most common forms of gender-affirming care. It also prevents trans minors from having gender-transition surgeries, which are rare.
The bill was part of a slew of measures filed this year targeting people in the LGBTQ+ community.
The law was blocked last week after a state district judge ruled that it was likely unconstitutional and discriminatory. But the Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that SB 14 can go into effect Sept 1. while that case plays out. The law was one of several 鈥渃ulture war鈥� debates that took place under the pink dome this year, but opponents of the bill said it鈥檚 a serious issue and the law would have devastating effects on Texas youths already receiving some of the care.
Texas doctors say potential ban on gender-affirming care for trans kids hurts patients and providers
Transgender athletes in collegiate sports
Senate Bill 15 mandates that college athletes participate in sports on teams that match their gender as determined at birth on their official birth certificates.
Like SB 14, this legislation was controversial and inspired intense debate among Texas lawmakers. The bill's author, Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, pushed back against those who criticized him for the bill, and said it was about 鈥渇airness.鈥�
"We hope every woman in this great state has a fair opportunity at athletic achievement and this bill protects that opportunity,鈥� in March.
One exception to the new law allows for 鈥渇emale athletes to compete on a male team if there is not a corresponding female team offered鈥� according to the analysis of the measure.
Leaving ERIC
While Senate Bill 1070 formally takes effect Sept. 1, the Texas Secretary of State鈥檚 Office began complying with its terms more than a month ago. The law requires that Texas withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), an interstate compact designed to clean voter rolls and reduce the chances of illegal voting.
The Texas Secretary of State鈥檚 Office submitted its 91-day notice of its intent to withdraw from ERIC on July 20. That means that as of October 19, less than a week before the start of early voting for the fall elections, Texas will no longer have any means of checking its voter rolls against those of other states to determine the eligibility of would-be voters.
Texas Republican officials have long argued about the need to strengthen the integrity of elections, but many have grown skeptical about ERIC鈥檚 ability to do this. They argue that ERIC鈥檚 requirement that members identify eligible but unregistered voters and encourage them to register is an improper use of tax dollars.
Further, since Texas first joined ERIC in 2020, numerous conspiracy theories have taken root falsely claiming that the organization is funded by left-leaning entities and that the requirement to promote voter registration is designed to benefit Democrats. While ERIC received initial seed capital from the Pew Charitable Trusts, it has received most of its funding since from dues paid by member states.
Reigning in the power of local district attorneys
Locally elected prosecutors lost a good portion of their discretionary power now that is in effect.
The new law allows the courts to remove district attorneys for misconduct if they choose not to pursue certain types of crimes 鈥� such as those related to abortion, elections or marijuana possession.
Republican lawmakers said this law will rein in 鈥渞ogue鈥� district attorneys in bigger, left-leaning counties 鈥� and, indeed, some DA鈥檚 offices have policies that appear to run afoul of the new law. In 2019, Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot announced his office would not prosecute first-time marijuana offenses and thefts of personal items under $750 stolen 鈥渙ut of necessity," according to .
And, after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, five Texas prosecutors signed a national letter saying they wouldn鈥檛 pursue abortion-related charges.
While Harris County DA Kim Ogg said the law won鈥檛 impact any policies in her office, she expects it to have a wider, chilling effect on district attorneys across the state.
鈥淲e see this as an overreach by the legislature,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 see it as a huge expense and distraction potentially, and that's a shame. We've got a lot of big problems in Texas. There are solutions to them, and unfortunately, I don't think this is one.鈥�
Ban on race-based hair discrimination
The CROWN Act, short for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, is designed to protect people of color from race-based hair discrimination.
According to commissioned by LinkedIn and Dove, 66% of Black women surveyed changed their hair for a job interview to avoid discrimination. Twenty-five percent believed their hairstyle cost them a job interview.
State Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, D-Rowlett, authored the measure and believes it will make a positive difference for many.
鈥淚t would impact men, women, and children 鈥� whether it was in the classroom and children were being kept from instruction because of their hair and looked at as a distraction 鈥� because of the style they are wearing their hair in 鈥� or people on a job being held [back] from promotion because they are choosing to wear their hair in braids,鈥� Bowers said.
She has spent years fighting to pass the law. The 2023 legislative session was the third time she filed the measure.
Ultimately, the Texas Legislature passed the CROWN Act in May with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Targeting 鈥渞eckless driving鈥� and street races
Street racing became more popular in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, when reduced traffic on roadways tempted some to use public thoroughfares . Flash mobs of vehicles would block off intersections to create temporary arenas for drivers to show off their stunting skills.
They also led to disaster, like a that killed Ben and Meg Arbour, parents of four young children.
鈥淭hese types of incidents are all too common,鈥� said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.
In February, Gov. Greg Abbott created a statewide task force to address street takeovers. That effort led to two new laws. House Bill 2899, which became law in June, allows law enforcement to impound the vehicles of those arrested for racing or reckless driving exhibition.
House Bill 1442, effective Sept. 1, now allows authorities to confiscate those vehicles permanently. The law also prohibits the promotion of takeovers and races on social media, as well as the posting of videos of the events. Such violations would be Class A misdemeanors, which have a statute of limitations of three years.
鈥淲e want to make it perfectly clear that we鈥檙e coming after you,鈥� Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said. 鈥淭he light will be on at the jailhouse regardless of jail overcrowding. We鈥檒l always have room for them鈥� We鈥檙e going to take your car, and we鈥檙e going to take your freedom.鈥�
Prioritizing murder cases in state court
As a court backlog continues to persist in the state鈥檚 largest county, Harris County officials are hopeful that a new law will help expedite pending murder cases. But it's still unclear if the law will bring about drastic change.
Under , district judges in Texas are required to give preference to hearings and trials for murder and capital murder offenses. The bill was authored by state Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat from Houston and a mayoral candidate. He said the new law would make the state鈥檚 criminal justice system 鈥渁 lot more fair and just.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 my opinion that this would do justice to those that are waiting for trial to be either found innocent or guilty and get them out of a dangerous county jail,鈥� Whitmire said. 鈥淭o move justice along to prevent evidence from getting old witnesses lost. It just makes sense to me to move some of these more serious cases to the front of the line.鈥�
This comes after pending cases in Harris County鈥檚 courts began piling up after Hurricane Harvey closed the county鈥檚 criminal courthouse for nearly a year. As of now, the backlog still surpasses 100,000 cases in both criminal and civil court in Harris County.
Plugging leaking water wells
House Bill 4256 establishes a grant program to help plug leaking water wells in rural areas, with $10 million earmarked for the effort.
That鈥檚 good news for the Fort Stockton area, where nestled into the aging oil fields of the Permian Basin, around 40 water wells have been allowed to release salty-toxic water from the depths for years.
Unlike oil and gas wells, Texas does not plug water wells. It鈥檚 left up to landowners to try to find the money to properly plug them. In Pecos County, that鈥檚 led to a huge sinkhole and the formation of an approximately 60-acre salt lake.
鈥淭he state recognized it鈥檚 an issue,鈥� said Tye Edwards, the manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater District. 鈥淲e have buy-in from all the legislature and it鈥檚 a major success, but it鈥檚 not the end of the game, it鈥檚 just the beginning.鈥�
While this law went into effect a few months ago, the funding for it is just now becoming available.
Border security
Lawmakers didn鈥檛 hold back on border security spending this year, and appropriated $5.1 billion for the effort in Texas鈥� next two-year budget. The bulk going toward Operation Lone Star, a state-led border security mission Gov. Abbott launched in 2021.
Lawmakers also passed a lot of other border-related bills going into effect Sept. 1. That includes Senate bill 602, which gives agents of the United States Border Patrol the ability to search, detain and arrest people suspected of committing state crimes, vastly expanding the power of the federal agents.
Before the law was passed, Border Patrol agents were only authorized to detain people suspected of committed state offenses pending a transfer to a peace officer. But state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, said that more than a dozen federal agencies allow their agents to enforce state law in some capacity and Border Patrol agents shouldn鈥檛 be excluded.
鈥淭he limitation on where Border Patrol can detain individuals means that they cannot detain any person suspected of committing a state felony when they are on patrol along the border,鈥� Birdwell said during a committee hearing earlier this year.
Senate Bill 1403 authorizes Texas to create and execute an interstate compact for border security purposes. Under the legislation, participating entities will share intelligence and other information about illegal activity on the state鈥檚 southern border. It also allows for sharing 鈥渇unding and other assistance in creating and maintaining defensive border structures鈥濃�� which likely means a border wall.
Senate Bill 1900 designates Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and essentially treats alleged cartel members the same way the state treats members of street gangs.
Abbott already declared Mexican cartels as FTOs in a 2022 executive order, but that was mainly seen as a symbolic action because that designation is usually issued by the federal government. By approving SB 1900, lawmakers made cartel members susceptible to the same punishments gang members currently incur when convicted of crimes like criminal mischief, coercion, firearms violations and a host of other infractions.
The legislation also allows Texas to seize property owned by FTO members and adds information about alleged cartel members to the state鈥檚 criminal database.
Billions more for border security highlight Texas鈥� focus on drug interdiction, immigration
Millions for fire prevention in Abilene
Texas' dry weather has led to a large number of wildfires. This year, lawmakers allocated additional money to improve the state's fire response capabilities.
Currently, when conditions warrant, the Texas A&M Forest Service activates a wildfire tanker base at Abilene Regional Airport. It readies pilots and equipment to respond to any wildfires that break out.
Thanks to a $20 million slice of HB 1, the state鈥檚 budget new two-year budget, Abilene can now build a longer ramp and permanent facilities for the fire crews.
Abilene Regional Airport currently has only two passenger gates, which Abilene鈥檚 Director of Aviation Don Green said can lead to crowded conditions for wildfire aircrews.
鈥淎 concern of the Forest Service at other airports is where do they fit in in that traffic flow when you鈥檝e got so many airline aircraft in and out all day long. So it works very well here,鈥� said Green.
While local officials see it as a huge win for Abilene, they add that the benefits will reach anyone facing a wildfire in Texas and beyond.
鈥淥klahoma, New Mexico, Colorado 鈥� they can access some of those other states as well. Abilene is a better location for that," aid state Rep. Stan Lambert, R-Abilene.
Once the funding kicks in, airport officials will be able to select an engineering firm and anticipate that construction will begin next summer. A permanent tanker base could be up and running in 2025.
Reporting by Sarah Asch, The Texas Standard; Mark Haslett, KETR; Lucio Vasquez and Andrew Schneider, Houston Public Media; Mitch Borden, Marfa Public Radio; Heather Claborn, KACU; Sergio Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n and Juli谩n Aguilar, The Texas Newsroom.