New Texas laws tackle abortion, medical marijuana, and religious displays in schools

While lawmakers are currently in a second Texas legislative special session, they passed hundreds of laws during the regular session that impacted many Texans. 

SMU Political Scientist, Matthew Wilson, speaks about the impact these laws will have on families across the state.

Ten Commandments in school

What we know:

On September 1, more than 800 new laws will take effect in Texas. Many of them focus on culture war issues favored by Republicans, championed by the new house speaker, State Rep. Dustin Burrows.

One new law mandates the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

However, not every classroom may have a poster of the Ten Commandments. Schools are not required to buy Ten Commandment posters but must put them up if someone donates the posters.

Dig deeper:

One North Texas school district, Plano ISD, cannot display the Ten Commandments because the district is part of a lawsuit.

"So, this was a different ballgame, and social conservatives were able to push through some things that may have gotten stalled under previous legislatures," said Wilson. 

"Ultimately, I think the US Supreme Court is going to have to rule on whether a mandatory display of the Ten Commandments violates the First Amendment's establishment clause.

Abortion fund

Another law prevents cities from using public funds to support women who leave the state to seek abortions.

"They said, no, a local government cannot set up a fund to enable people to evade state law," said Wilson.

Austin and San Antonio had set aside money to help women for that purpose after the state’s strict new abortion law went into effect in 2023.

Cannabis

HB46 expands the limited state medical marijuana program.

The new law allows people with chronic pain, traumatic brain injury and Crohn’s Disease to be eligible for medication. 

HB33 requires law enforcement to establish crisis response policies in the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde. 

"If people had begun to forget about what happened in Uvalde, they were very much reminded by what recently happened in Minneapolis. And I think school safety remains a priority for a lot of people. And that's something where there's a fair bit of bipartisan agreement about strengthening security in public tools," said Wilson.

What's next:

Other laws deal with property tax cuts, gender identity and diversity and inclusion policies, and, of course, the number one prior priority for Governor Abbott, and many republicans, school vouchers also passed.