You know some of the more publicized ones, which include Education Savings Accounts, which will allow parents to use public money to send children to private schools. But there are other new education-related laws.
The Uvalde Strong bill looks to fix some of the many errors that happened at the Robb Elementary mass shooting in 2022. It mandates joint training exercises between districts and law enforcement and develops a unified command structure for active shooting emergencies.
SB965 takes effect Monday, and it protects a public school employee's right to pray or speak about religion on campus. It codifies a Supreme Court ruling protecting individual free speech, but some critics worry it could blur the lines between church and state in public schools.
On the other end of the free speech argument, SB 2972 limits certain expressions on college campuses. This is in light of the protests on college campuses across the country in 2023. It limits when, where, and how protests occur and prohibits camping, wearing disguises to hide identity, or using amplified sound during class hours.
Additional new laws work to protect Texans online as deepfakes and artificial intelligence become more and more difficult to distinguish from reality.
Legislators have worked to try and keep up with changing technology. It's not easy, but they're making inroads on at least designing penalties for those who harm others online.
House Bill 783 allows victims of online impersonation to sue civilly anyone who targets them. Victims can seek damages not only for any financial losses they suffered but also go after any profits their impersonator might have earned from the ruse.
House Bill 3133 enhances regulations on so-called deepfakes. It focuses on explicit deep fakes, which deceive viewers by putting a real person into a fictional situation doing something they never did. It requires social media platforms to provide easy-to-use complaint systems and mandates quick responses to those complaints and removal of them within a week. It also classifies deepfakes as deceptive trade, opening up more legal options.
Senate Bill 441 is similar in that it deals with artificial intelligence-created intimate material. It creates a new criminal offense and it widens civil liability for those who create it. It also requires websites to establish complaint systems and easy removal.
And while President Donald Trump made headlines last week, when he said he would sign an executive order mandating voter identification in all 50 states, and that he was considering ending mail-in ballots except for the very old or sick and the military. But Texas is already changing some of its laws regarding voting.
HB 493 creates new rules for poll watchers. They can no longer use recording devices while on the job and the law disqualifies anyone convicted of a first or second degree felony of any kind or a felony related to election conduct.
HB 3697 changes the appearance of mail-in ballots in Texas. Now, those ballots will be printed in larger, more readable formats with black text on white backgrounds to make it easier for people who may have visual impairments.
House Bill 1661 is the result of Harris County's miscue when it failed to have enough paper at certain precincts. Now, there are criminal penalties for election administrators who don't have enough ballots available. It requires a number of ballots equal to at least 125% of the number of voters from the most recent comparable election in each precinct. However, it cannot exceed the total number of registered voters in the precinct, unless the county participates in the countywide polling place program.
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