New Texas Laws Taking Effect on September 1, 2019

September 1 is fast approaching and that means there are a whole lot of new laws that will go into effect in Texas. These are just some the laws you’ll need to know about.

HB 234 – Lemonade stands

It seems strange that a child’s lemonade stand would be shut down for breaking the law, but it’s happened. That will soon be a thing of the past. Children under the age of 18 will be able to sell non-alcoholic beverages on private property without fear of prosecution.

SB 21 – Minimum age for tobacco sales

This one is pretty cut and dry — you’ll have to be at least 21 years old to purchase or consume or possess tobacco products. This includes cigarettes, e-cigarettes and all other tobacco products.

HB 37 – Porch Pirates

The crime is considered a first-degree felony if you steal from more than 50 people, a second-degree felony if you steal from 20-50 people and a state felony if you steal from less than 10 people. Under House Bill 37, if you’re caught and convicted, you could spend anywhere from six months to 10 years in prison. You could also have to deal with a hefty fine, ranging anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 and the charges can be upgraded if the crime involves identity theft, the disabled or the elderly.

HB 505  – Former Officeholders Turned Lobbyist

HB 505 puts limits on the use of campaign funds by a former officeholder or candidate who became a registered lobbyist.
It says lobbyists can’t knowingly make or authorize a political contribution to other candidates or officeholders from the political contributions they received when they were in office. That part of the law applies during a two-year period that starts with the end date of their last term.

HB 2048 – Driver Responsibility Program Repealed

This repeals the Driver Responsibility Program, which will allow hundreds of thousands of Texans who’ve had their licenses suspended to reinstate them, and increases state fines for traffic and intoxicated drivers violations. State traffic fines will increase from $30 to $50 and intoxicated driver fines will increase as well:
$3,000 for the first conviction within 36 months;
$4,500 for a subsequent conviction within 36 months; or
$6,000 for a conviction if it was shown that the person’s alcohol concentration level was 0.16 or more

SB 463 – TAKS Testing

School districts won’t be allowed to administer a Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS, test. The exam was replaced with end of course (EOC) exams in 2007. Also set to expire “districts and charter schools establish individual graduation committees for students who failed to pass one or two required EOC exams.”

HB 8 – Sexual assault kit testing

This establishes timelines for processing and testing of sexual assault kits. Kits will be analyzed within 90 days of receiving the evidence. A felony prosecution where a rape kit was used will require the evidence to be preserved for at least 40 years or until the statute of limitations expires.

SB 1232 – Alcohol delivery

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission will give permits to qualifying beer and wine retailers so that the retailers can make alcohol deliveries. “The bill would not authorize the holder of a brewpub license to deliver alcoholic beverages directly to ultimate consumers for off-premise consumption at a location other than the licensed premise,” according to a bill analysis.

HB 1545 – Beer-To-Go

This will allow craft breweries to sell beer to-go in Texas. They can only sell up to one case per person per day.

HB 1992 – Anti-Spoofing Law

This prohibits a telemarketer from causing misleading information to be transmitted to a recipient’s caller identification service or device or otherwise misrepresenting the origin of a telemarketing call and to except from this prohibition a telemarketer that substitutes the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the call is made for the telemarketer’s name and telephone number.

HB 1387 – School marshals

This increases the number of school marshals a campus can appoint. School’s can “appoint to one marshal per 100 students in average daily attendance, or for a private school, one marshal per 100 students enrolled,” according to a bill analysis.

HB 1143 – Guns on Campus

A school district cannot prohibit licensed gun owners, including school employees, from storing a firearm or ammunition in a locked vehicle on a school parking lot — provided they are not in plain view.

HB 2363 – Guns in Foster Homes

Allows some foster homes to store firearms and ammunition in a safe and secure place for personal protection. Proper storage must be followed, the bill says, including putting firearms and ammunition together in the same locked locations. It also goes into effect on September 1.