Five New Laws That Went Into Effect In Texas In September

Usually, we don't think about new laws going into effect until the top of the year, but Texas snuck in some new laws on us that began on September 1, 2024.

Now part of the reason we may have missed them is because they weren't necessarily ones that affected the majority of residents within the state, but a few of them could very well affect more people than we think.

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So just in case you missed them, let's get you caught up on the laws that have recently taken effect in Texas.

HOUSE BILL 18

This is the trickiest one of them all. In layman's terms, this law is aimed at limiting a minor's access to social media. The other thing it's supposed to do is protect them from any kind of harmful content should they gain access to the platforms.

However, the full law did not go into effect as a judge temporarily blocked certain parts of the bill, stating that certain requirements were a threat to online speech.

The things the judge blocked included things such as requiring web services to do the following things

-Identify minors
-Limit data collection
-Ban targeted advertising
-Prohibit financial transactions without parental consent
-Prevent minors from seeing harmful content
-Implement age verification methods

So while this law is in effect to a certain extent, it is not in effect in the way it was presented and passed initially. Here is the entire law that was presented and initially passed.

SENATE BILL 1841

This bill is aimed at survivors of dating violence and giving them access to family violence centers. I was surprised that we weren't already doing that if I'm being honest, but I guess technically if you're just dating someone, they aren't family.

Inside the bill, they have clearly defined what dating violence is. It is described as someone that is in a dating relationship and causes physical harm, suffers emotional abuse, or makes someone fear for their safety.

The entire bill is here.

HOUSE BILL 1710

This is one of those procedural laws that went into effect, and it really only affects you if you're behind bars for any reason.

The law states that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has to notify a judge if a defendant has served at least 75 days behind bars. The way the law reads is that on or before the 60th day a defendant has been behind bars, the judge must be notified of the date the defendant will have been behind bars for 75 days.

Full law is here.

SENATE BILL 241

For those of you on insulin, this is a big one. This new law drops the hammer on those companies that produce insulin, requiring to be transparent about generic versions of the product. This forces the company to let the patient know that there are generic versions of the insulin on the market they can shift to, rather than pushing their expensive "name-brand" drug.

The name-brand insulin manufacturers also have to give a written notice if there is NO generic version of it available. You can see the entire bill here.

HOUSE BILL 4510

This law is more about accountability for agencies and public colleges. The new law changes the requirements for reporting financial information to the government.

According to the bill, no later than November 1 each year, the state agency must submit a report that breaks down everything fiscally, from what they received and the use of any of the appropriated money they received. The report must go to five different places, one of them being the governor.

Full bill is sitting here for you.