After a historic regular session, Texas state lawmakers passed hundreds of new laws on everything from requiring a Ten Commandments display in public schools to establishing legal definitions for “man” and “woman.”
While lawmakers are still in Austin for a special session to vote on redistricting — which passed the Senate by a 19-2 vote Tuesday — flood relief, and other issues, those efforts were delayed after House Democrats fled the state to prevent the GOP from achieving the quorum necessary to vote on the legislation that could give Republicans five more seats in the House.
Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has taken action against the Democrats who have fled the state by ordering the Texas Department of Public Safety to arrest the Democratic lawmakers and filing legal proceedings to begin the process of removing from office Democratic lawmakers who fled the state.
Here are five new laws set to go into effect Sept. 1.
