In Texas, 666 Laws Take Effect Sept. 1, Including Many Conservative Priorities

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Jessica Marie Ramirez attends a voting rights rally outside of the Texas State Capitol on July 8 in Austin, Texas.





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Politics
After A Standoff With Democrats, Texas Republicans Pass New Voting Restrictions


New voting laws. (No, not that one)


The Texas voting bill that’s gained the most attention this year is the GOP-backed Senate Bill 1, which passed this week. That still needs Gov. Abbott’s signature but some less talked about voting laws take effect Wednesday.

One bans Texas voters from registering using a post office box as their address, another allows the secretary of state to cut funds for voter registrars that fail to remove certain people from the rolls and one more makes it harder to apply for a mail-in ballot for medical reasons.

There are also other, less controversial, voting laws. One that allows people to track their mail-in ballots and another that makes it clear who can be in a polling place: voters, election workers, poll watchers, election judges and law enforcement.





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A protester holds a sign outside the Texas state Capitol on May 29 in Austin. Thousands of protesters came out in response to a bill outlawing abortions after cardiac activity is detected in an embryo, sometimes by six weeks of pregnancy.





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A woman explains handgun merchandise to a customer during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC on July 10 in Dallas.





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A woman explains handgun merchandise to a customer during the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC on July 10 in Dallas.


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Permitless carry


Texans have had the right to carry a gun in public since 1995. Since then, more gun-friendly legislation has followed. However, you’ve always needed to obtain a license to be able to take your gun outside your home or vehicle.

Starting Wednesday, that’s no longer the case.

The new law allows anyone who can legally own a firearm to carry it in public, as long as it’s in a holster. That’s a first since Reconstruction.

Texas is now the 20th state to enact what some call «constitutional carry – something supporters say is a right granted by the Second Amendment.

The law doesn’t change eligibility for gun ownership. Texas handgun owners must still be at least 21-years-old and can not have served a sentence for a felony or family violence within the last five years. And 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.

The law is unpopular among some Texas law enforcement, and according to April polling data from The University of Texas and the Texas Tribune, nearly 60% of Texans oppose permitless carry.

«I think it will mean more handguns in public, says Gyl Switzer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense. «And data show us time, after time, after time that guns don’t make us safer.


A ban on homeless encampments


Another new law would ban homeless encampments across the state making it illegal to set up shelter or store belongings for an extended period of time, creating a new class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Many believe the legislation is a response to Austin decriminalizing homeless camping in 2019 — a measure that Austin voters voted to overturn in May. The law also limits cities from using parks for temporary camps.


Expanding medical cannabis access


Thousands more Texans will become eligible Wednesday for low-THC medical cannabis oil through the state’s compassionate use program.

The new law makes all forms of cancer eligible for the program. Previously, only patients suffering from «terminal cancer were eligible.

«It’s arguable that any form of cancer could be terminal, right? says Jax Finkel, executive director of Texas National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. «So it felt like a very arbitrary descriptor.

It also expands use for people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Originally, only veterans were eligible. That was changed, in part, after an outpouring of support from veterans who testified that everyone with PTSD should have the same access.

The state’s program, though, remains one of the most restrictive in the country.

According to a poll this year from the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune, just more than 10% of Texans believe marijuana should remain illegal in the state.


Education credits for veterans’ service


A new law could help the roughly 1.5 million veterans living in Texas get academic credit for skills they learned in the military by creating a universal catalog to translate which military training would apply to certain degrees and certificate programs at Texas trade schools and colleges.

Democratic state Rep. Alex Dominguez, who co-authored the bill, says it was about reducing redundancy for veterans and giving them quicker entry into the civilian workforce.

«My goal is to publish this list so that the veterans themselves can see what they would qualify for, Dominguez says. «A veteran might be leaving military service having always done work in, say, infantry, but they might notice that they have developed enough skills that would help them get a job in, say, law enforcement, or to be a paramedic, for example.

Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider and Florian Martin; KERA’s Bret Jaspers, Haya Panjwani, Ana Perez and Bill Zeeble; KUT’s Ashley Lopez, Jerry Quijano and Andrew Weber; and Texas Public Radio’s Carolina Cuellar and Jack Morgan contributed to the reporting for this story.