State of Texas passes 666 new laws

HOUSTONTexas (KIAH) It’s the first of the month, and Texas has several new laws that go into effect beginning on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

Texas Senate Bill 8

Starting with Senate Bill 8, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. There’s no specific time frame listed; however, lawmakers say this typically occurs around 6 weeks.

The bill also allows Texans to sue abortion providers or anyone who encourages or helps someone get an abortion. You can sue for up to $10,000.

Right now, this bill faces lawsuits on both the state and federal levels.

Texas Senate Bills 2

Moving on to Senate Bills 2 and 3 which is the “Electric Grid Reform”

Senate Bill 2 started with the winter storm earlier this year. This left many Texans without electricity in single digits temperatures for several days.

This piece of legislature cuts EROCT board members from 15 to 11 members. It allows the state’s top leaders to give their opinion but not necessarily to govern. 

Texas Senate Bill 3

Senate Bill 3 the “Omnibus Post-Winter Storm Bill”, requires electricity providers operating on the ERCOT grid to “weatherize their equipment”. This could prevent pipelines from freezing. Lawmakers say this could also improve their communication with customers during outages. This means sending out more alerts. 

Lastly, House Bill 3979 bans schools from requiring teachers to educate students on major historic events or racial and social issues.

It does however require teachers to tell “both sides” and not just one perspective.

There are some concerns about educators in texas trying to “erase history”. This bill that passed did not go far enough to completely ban “critical race theory” in Texas classrooms.

There are an additional 663 new bills.

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